Originally published at: New diabetes drug helped obese people without the disease lose incredible amounts of weight | Boing Boing
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There’s no way people are going to abuse this drug, right? Right?
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Ten percent would get me into the “normal” range
It doesn’t seem like most Americans are preoccupied with being super-skinny, but maybe that’s just the circles I travel in
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Fen-Phen was an effective weight loss drug too. The people who died from it were much thinner.
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That is horrific. Losing 20% of your body weight in a short time is what happens with something like E.Coli or dysentery. I am on two medications for type 2 diabetes. I lost about 2 lbs since taking them. But a lot of it is due to change in diet.
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“side effects were primarily gastrointestinal, and included nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and mainly occurred in the dose-escalation phase.”
Well, that’ll help with weight loss.
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You really have to read the fine print on these studies.
It turns out this study was conducted with joint funding from the medical college and the school of economics. While they were doing the drug trial they also performed a behavioral economics experiment where they offered to forgive the loan debt for grad students participating in the study if they agreed to allow researchers to saw off one of their legs. They really should have led with the more interesting findings. Apparently, 15% of people unexpectedly chose their “primary” leg. Also, a one-legged grad student can still kick your ass when you tell them it was a “hypothetical” offer.
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It rather depends on what it’s actually doing. I.e. if it’s treating a metabolic disorder (that is, in turn, causing obesity), then it may not be something that lends itself to abuse.
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Yes, but stuff like Ivermectin…
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You ever see the back of a twenty dollar bill… on Tirzepatide? Oh, there’s some crazy shit, man.
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30-50 lbs in 72 weeks is not really all that drastic.
Average weight loss from normal caloric reduction diets coupled with moderate exercise is 1-2 lbs per week so this seems in line with that. Problem is most people cannot sustain a 500-1000 daily calorie deficit for a year and a half through diet alone. Our bodies are just not designed for prolonged periods of starvation.
It may seem obvious to set realistic weight-loss goals. But do you really know what’s realistic? Over the long term, it’s smart to aim for losing 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a week. Generally to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you consume each day, through a lower calorie diet and regular physical activity.
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We’re not talking diet and exercise. We are talking due to a medication with…
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True. But that’s why this is big news. An injection that basically produces the same weight loss as diet and exercise over the same time period is pretty groundbreaking. Especially if the side effects are as mild as they claim.
Not saying I’m gonna jump in line for it right…not until the long term effects have been determined.
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And the weight loss continued.
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I’m saying that, e.g. in my theoretical scenario, it would only have an impact on people with metabolic disorders, so non-obese people might not see any weight loss at all. So it would be difficult to imagine what off-label use context it could be abused in.
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Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are pretty nasty side effects of a drug meant to lower blood sugar.
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Made me think of this recent NYT article:
Both tirzepatide (this post) and liraglutide (drug in NYT article) are GLP-1 agonists increasing incretin levels. Incretins are released after eating, lower blood glucose, and increase feeling full. No idea how safe these drugs are, but the research into drugs influencing weight loss is expanding rapidly.
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Once the medical establishment got it’s head at least partly out of its ass and started studying metabolism as more than calories in/calories out they started to see how complex the system is and how many moving parts may be tweakable to correct it.
Oh look! This isn’t just a moral failing of fat people after all!
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Not good but extremely common side effects for a lot of drugs. Including antidepressants. A little concerning in an injection.
I’d want a lot more evidence but it is something more than calories in and out, amphetamines, surgery, or doctor-condoned starvation. Bad drugs have gotten through before.
I share the concern about the totals- those are kind of shocking. But Someone at 300 pounds and 72 weeks would average 0.6 pounds loss a week if they lost 15%. 20% would be more like 0.83 pounds a week. Not too extreme unless I did my math wrong. Even assuming the first 3 weeks or so have no weight loss.
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