According to a major study, a game-changing drug helps tubbys adults lose up to 52 pounds.
The highest dose of the weekly injection, known as tirzepatide, saw obese adults lose more than a fifth of their body weight in just over a year.
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Adults receiving tirzepatide dropped to £ 52 Credit: PA: Press Association
These results are similar to those commonly seen in staple surgery.
Experts say the drug could help revolutionize the treatment of obesity and reverse the epidemic of type 2 diabetes.
But there are fears that the pills will only work while you are taking them and that once you stop taking the usual doses and go back to bad habits, the pounds could build up.
Originally developed to treat diabetes, it works by targeting hormones that regulate appetite, reducing appetite and calorie intake.
However, side effects include vomiting and diarrhea, according to the study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Two out of three British adults are overweight, and the World Health Organization has warned that the UK will be the fattest man in Europe in a decade.
Speaking at the 82nd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association, lead researcher Ania Jastreboff of Yale University said: “In particular, about nine out of ten obese people lost weight while taking tirzepatida.
“Obesity must be treated like any other chronic disease, with effective and safe approaches that target the underlying mechanisms of the disease …
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“These findings suggest that tirzepatide may be doing just that.”
The study included 2,539 adult tubby, although none had diabetes.
Volunteers who received the highest dose of tirzepatide lost 52 pounds after 16 months, or 22.5 percent of their weight, while those who received weaker injections dropped between 35 and 49 pounds.
The UK Drug Control Dog approved a similar fat removal therapy in February for use at the NHS for up to 1.3 million adults.
In the trials, tubbys adults who received semaglutida weekly lost almost 2.5 stones in just 15 months, six times more than those who were told to just exercise and diet.
Commenting on the latest study, Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly, Director of the Metabolic Diseases Unit at the University of Cambridge Medical Research Council, said: “The results of this trial are very impressive.
“Treating obese people with a weekly injection of tirzepatid resulted in weight loss similar to that seen with weight loss surgery.
“Side effects were mild to moderate and usually related to some nausea and vomiting.
“Blood tests showed improvements in all markers of metabolic and cardiovascular health.
“This study, and recent similar reports from a semaglutida-related agent, provide reliable evidence that obese people can be treated effectively and safely with a drug that is based on natural hormone modification.”