The study indicates that patients gained the weight they lost after stopping treatment
Summary
Obesity associated with various pathologies is treated with drugs such as Ozempic and Saxenda. After stopping use, the tendency is to regain weight. José Carlos Souto explains that there is a study by Virta Health that showed that, following a ketogenic diet, patients did not gain weight 1 year after adopting it.
Obesity is associated with an increased risk of numerous diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer. The advent of GLP-1 analogues, safe and effective drugs known by trade names such as Ozempic and Saxenda, have revolutionized the pharmacological treatment of obesity. It turns out that if the patient stops taking the drug, the tendency is to regain the lost weight.
To overcome this problem, many obesity authorities recommend the use of medications indefinitely, which can be difficult for some patients, since GLP-1 analogues have side effects, which include heartburn, reflux, constipation, diarrhea and poor digestion. Furthermore, treatment with such drugs usually costs more than R$ 1,000 per month, a very high amount for most people.
José Carlos Souto, reference doctor for low-carb in Brazil and author of the best-seller “A diet beyond fashion – a scientific approach to weight loss and maintaining health”, explains that doctors’ recommendations for their patients continue to use Ozempic and Saxenda for an indefinite period of time is based on the fact that, until recently, there was no study demonstrating a dietary or lifestyle intervention that prevented weight regain after stopping treatment with drugs.
However, now there is, says the author. This is a study conducted by the company Virta Health, a startup that uses very low carbohydrate diets in the management of type 2 diabetes. It showed that, following a ketogenic diet, patients who stopped treatment with Ozempic and similar drugs they did not regain their weight even after a year of adopting the low-carb diet.
According to Souto, the results of this study are further good news for the treatment of obesity, as they show the effectiveness of a low-cost dietary strategy for the patient and which can be maintained indefinitely.
Diabetes treatment
Souto explains that Ozempic and similar products were originally approved for the treatment of diabetes.
“But weight loss was quickly perceived as a side effect, and nowadays, most prescriptions for this class of drugs are aimed at weight loss,” he says. P
In order for the drug to obtain approval from the FDA – the equivalent of our ANVISA in the USA – for this purpose, reports Souto, a study was used as the basis in which obese patients were randomly selected for two interventions in the style of life: one who recommended reducing 500 calories a day in the diet and practicing daily physical activity; and another, who in addition to changes in diet and physical activity, adopted the use of 2.4 mg per day of semaglutide, the drug Ozempic (but in a higher dose).
About a year after this study began, the results were truly impressive. According to the author of Uma Diet Além da Moda, participants who used semaglutide lost almost 18 kilos, while patients selected for the placebo, combined with dietary restriction and physical activity, lost only two kilos, even with a constant nutritional monitoring by trying to maintain a restrictive diet for a year.
However, the study indicated that patients gained 2/3 of the weight they lost one year after stopping the drug, diet and exercise. “Which shouldn’t be surprising, because it’s known that the body has a memory and will try to reach its initial weight again,” she says.
A diet beyond trends
Virta Health, explains Souto, is a North American company focused on treating diabetes through the ketogenic diet. To this end, it offers its customers services and technologies that allow constant monitoring and control of the disease. In its study, Virta Health retrospectively evaluated 154 overweight and obese diabetic patients who were using Ozempic and similar drugs and who discontinued the drugs. The company compared them with 154 other patients with similar characteristics, in whom it was decided to maintain the drugs. Emphasizing that all patients followed a ketogenic diet.
The study found that patients, whether or not they stopped taking the drug, did not regain the weight they lost even a year after starting the very low-carb diet.
“In other words, diabetic people using Ozempic and similar products and who discontinued the drug were completely protected from weight regain thanks to the carbohydrate restriction strategy. A sensational discovery, because it is the first time that a study shows a result like this,” underlines Souto.
The doctor uses another study to refute the arguments of those who say that the comparisons between the studies cited are unfair, since in the research that indicated a 2/3 weight gain, participants abandoned diet and exercise, while in the Virta Health Survey, patients were monitored to maintain their low-carb diet.
In this other research, Souto says, two groups were compared: one that used semaglutide for 68 weeks and another that replaced the drug with a placebo after the first 20 weeks. In both cases, the author reports, it was recommended to continue the restrictive diet (500 fewer calories) and physical activity (150 minutes of exercise per week).
“The result was that, even while maintaining diet and physical activity, patients who stopped taking semaglutide regained half of the weight they lost,” he says. Therefore, he says, this comparison of studies provides good evidence that the difference between maintaining weight loss and increasing weight lost lies in the type of eating strategy used: low-carb, like medications, reduces appetite .
It turns out that, while in the original study with the drug, patients were told to adopt a low-calorie diet (starvation diet), in the Virta Health study, participants adhered to a ketogenic diet without voluntary calorie restriction. But, due to increased satiety, they ended up spontaneously eating fewer calories. This happens because a very low carbohydrate diet favors the intake of proteins, vegetables and good fats, which generate a lot of satiety.
“The satiety produced by the drug is replaced by the satiety induced by the diet and patients maintain the weight lost even when they stop using the measuring cup,” concludes the doctor.
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Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
