Wegovy

Scientists and advocates say new anti-obesity drugs generating remarkable levels of weight loss in clinical trials will change the conversation about ...

“One of the most powerful ways of pushing back against that, we found out very quickly, is to say it is biological. The drug does come with side effects – particularly nausea – and in clinical trials about 6 per cent of volunteers are forced to drop out. Wegovy’s dramatic results might provide the sort of black-and-white proof that convinces society at large, they hope, that it is a disease and needs to be treated as such. It also seems to affect how the brain regulates appetite. After this enormous effort they lost, on average, 5.7 per cent of their body weight. “That’s extreme and unsustainable,” said Oldfield. While healthy eating and physical activity are vital for good health, decades of evidence suggest they simply do not lead to large amounts of weight loss, said Oldfield. “I think it will reframe the argument. There is a powerful biology that underpins obesity.” The success of Wegovy, he said, “is clearly indicating there is a profound biological underpinning”. “They are not enough by themselves. Scientists and campaigners have long rejected the popular narrative that obesity is solely the result of unhealthy choices. Scientists and advocates say new anti-obesity drugs generating remarkable levels of weight loss in clinical trials will once and for all dispel the myth that obesity is simply the result of making unhealthy choices, rather than a genuine disease.