Facts are, almost two in three Australians are overweight or obese, and diseases (like diabetes and heart issues) associated with weight problems are putting a sizeable strain on the health system and costing the gov billions of dollars a year.
With this in mind, our medicine watchdog has just approved a new weight loss injectable called Saxenda. The drug has been around in the U.S. since 2014, and will be on pharmacy shelves as early as next week.
It’s different to lots of other weight loss drugs on the market. Bad news for needle scaredy cats – it’s a once-daily injection, as opposed to a pill.
The drug works by mimicking a naturally-occurring hormone that the intestine secrets while you chow down on a meal. This hormone regulates the levels of sugar in your blood, and slows down the emptying of your stomach, which results in feelings of being full as a goog.
When combined with the right diet and exercise, studies have found it can help people lose up the 8% of their body weight. Before you get too excited – to qualify for the drug, you’ve gotta have a BMI of over 30, or a BMI of 27 and heart disease and/or diabetes.
It comes with a hefty price tag, too, costing patients $387 a month, and common side effects include nausea, diarrhea and constipation (not in a cancel each other out way), dizziness and…
FATTY STOOLS. AKA this.
Source: The Advertiser.
Photo: The Simpsons.
