Weight loss jabs could help cut alcohol consumption, study suggests
Weight loss jabs could help slash alcohol intake in obese people by around two thirds, according to a study.
It is thought the drugs help curb cravings for alcohol, experts said, although more research is needed.
Weight loss jabs, also known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, work by reducing food cravings.
The study, led by academics in Ireland and Saudi Arabia, included 262 obese people who had been prescribed liraglutide or semaglutide, which are available under the brand names Saxenda and Wegovy respectively.
They were categorised based on the amount of alcohol they consumed each week prior to starting treatment.
The groups included non-drinkers, rare drinkers who had less than 10 units a week, and regular drinkers, who reported having 10 or more units each week.
Some 188 of the 262 patients were followed up for an average of four months.
Average alcohol consumption fell from 11.3 units a week – about six or seven pints of beer – to 4.3 units a week, or roughly two pints of beer, after four months on the drugs.
Among regular drinkers, intake decreased by 68%, from 23.2 units a week to 7.8 units a week.
Professor Carel le Roux, of University College Dublin, said: 'The exact mechanism of how GLP-1 analogues reduce alcohol intake is still being investigated but it is thought to involve curbing cravings for alcohol that arise in subcortical areas of the brain that are not under conscious control.
'Thus, patients report the effects are 'effortless'.'
The findings, which are being presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga, suggest a 'potential therapeutic role' for weight loss jabs in people who are obese and regularly drink alcohol, researchers said.
However, they stressed larger trials are needed to validate the results.
Prof Le Roux added: 'GLP-1 analogues have been shown treat obesity and reduce the risk of multiple obesity-related complications.
'Now, the beneficial effects beyond obesity, such as on alcohol intake, are being actively studied, with some promising results.'
Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Warning issued to women over 'Mounjaro babies'
Blockbuster weight loss jabs could make contraception less effective, and prove harmful to unborn babies, according to an urgent warning from UK drugs chiefs. In a new alert, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) urged women using any slimming injection including Ozempic and Wegovy to use birth control, due to potential risks to both the pregnant woman and the foetus. Meanwhile, those using the 'King-Kong' of weight loss jabs, Mounjaro, were told to 'double-up' their methods of contraception if using The Pill. 'Mounjaro may reduce the effectiveness of oral contraceptives in those who are overweight,' the alert read, adding that safe sex is 'especially important for the four weeks after starting Mounjaro and after any dose increase.' Officials added that women who become pregnant while using the medications must cease taking them immediately. Those who are breastfeeding should the injections stop too. 'There is not enough safety data to know whether taking the medicine could cause harm to the baby,' the MHRA said. The regulator added that, to date, it had received more than 40 reports relating to pregnancy among women on the drugs. Of these, 26 were related to Mounjaro, one of which was for an unintended pregnancy. Eight related to semaglutide, the active ingredient in both Ozempic and Wegovy. The reports related to pregnancy, recorded by medics and patients, include problems such as birth defects, miscarriages, and unplanned pregnancies. The regulator added in some cases women should continue to use contraception for up to two months after stopping the medications before trying to get pregnant. Mounjaro, which boosts levels of appetite-supressing hormones, is known to make The Pill less effective due to disruption it causes to the digestive system, flushing out the contraceptive. Patients taking weight-loss injections are already advised to use contraception, and to stop taking the drugs if they get pregnant, in leaflets that come with the drugs. Some 35,000 British women of child-bearing age were prescribed the jabs on the NHS in England in 2024, official figures suggest. However, this is likely to be an underestimate, given that many acquire the drug privately. The MHRA alert also warned against buying the medicines from unregulated and non-medical sellers such as beauty salons or via social media. Dr Alison Cave, MHRA chief safety officer, said: 'Skinny jabs are medicines licensed to treat specific medical conditions and should not be used as aesthetic or cosmetic treatments. 'They are not a quick fix to lose weight and have not been assessed to be safe when used in this way. 'Our guidance offers patients a 'one-stop shop' for our up-to-date advice on how to use these powerful medicines safely. 'This guidance should not be used as a substitute to reading the patient information leaflet or having a conversation with a healthcare professional as part of the prescribing process.' Experts said it was suspected how weight-loss jabs work to help patients shed pounds, was also thought to be diminishing the effectiveness of contraceptives. Dr Channa Jayasena, an expert in reproductive health at Imperial College London, explained: 'We think that the absorption of oral contraceptive pills may be reduced with GLP-1 drugs which slow down emptying of the stomach, though more research is needed to confirm this.' He added, that the MHRA's alert seemed 'sensible'. 'We don't know how harmful GLP-1 drugs are during pregnancy; however, we know that other forms of weight loss like weight loss surgery can increase chances of a miscarriage,' he said. 'So, women are advised to do all they can to prevent pregnancy while taking GLP-1 drugs.' Professor Rebecca Reynolds, an expert in metabolic medicine at the University of Edinburgh, added that some studies had indicated the drugs could increase the risk of birth defects. 'There is hardly any available data from human studies to be able to advise if these weight loss drugs are safe in pregnancy. 'The data from animal studies suggests the potential for harm with low birthweight and skeletal abnormalities, though more evidence is needed to assess if there are risks of taking these drugs in pregnant humans.' Reacting to the MHRA's announcement Jasmine Shah, medication safety officer at the National Pharmacy Association, urged women using the drugs to take note. 'Community pharmacies have been experiencing unprecedented levels of interest for weight loss injections,' she said. 'It is therefore important that regulations and guidance keep pace with this demand and that patient safety is put at the heart of everything we do. 'Medicines are not like ordinary goods for sale; they must be handled with great care because they have the power to harm as well as to heal.' There are dozens of reports of women experiencing unexpected pregnancies while taking weight loss injections. Some of these are linked to the drugs helping people lose weight which in turn, boosts their fertility. However, there have been a smaller number whereby it is believed weight loss jabs have made contraceptive less effective. One US woman, Deb Oliviara, who is based in the US, detailed how she became pregnant while using semaglutide. 'It lessens the effectiveness of birth control and it also heightens your fertility,' she said in a clip viewed nearly a million times. She added she stopped using the drug immediately upon learning she was expecting. Another woman, who posted on a Reddit forum, revealed she had become pregnant while using Mounjaro, despite taking contraception. She shared an image of her positive pregnancy test and wrote that weight loss jabs ' make it hard for oral medications (like birth control) to be effective'. Weight-loss injections belong to class of drugs known as GLP- agonists, which help encourage fullness by mimicking a natural hormone released after eating. Some, like Mounjaro, also act on a second hormone involved in appetite and blood sugar control. The alert comes as findings suggest taking Ozempic and similar drugs may raise the risk of a 'silent cancer'. Reports of suspected side effects for drugs in the UK are logged under the MHRA's 'Yellow Card' scheme. Officials use the same database, set-up in the wake of the 1960s thalidomide scandal, to track the safety of Covid vaccines. Although impossible to prove, it allows doctors, pharmacists and patients to report adverse reactions believed to be caused by drugs used in Britain. This can lead to them being reviewed, having warnings added to the labels or being taken off the market completely.
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Reuters
Novo's Ozempic, Wegovy linked to rare cases of dangerous eye disorder, EMA says
June 6 (Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency's safety committee has concluded that the use of Novo Nordisk's ( opens new tab popular weight-loss drug Wegovy and its treatments for type 2 diabetes may cause rare occurrences of a potentially dangerous eye condition. Called non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), the condition may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people taking semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Novo's diabetes drugs Ozempic and Rybelsus, the regulator said on Friday. The EMA, which started its review in December, said the use of the drugs is linked to about twofold increase in the risk of developing the condition compared to people not taking the medicine. NAION develops from insufficient blood flow to the optic nerve and causes sudden painless vision loss in one eye. It is the second most common cause of blindness due to optic nerve damage, after glaucoma. Studies have linked semaglutide to NAION in the past. But this is the first time a regulator has made the link. Semaglutide belongs to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which work by helping control blood sugar levels and triggering a feeling of fullness. A large study of nearly 350,000 diabetics published earlier this year had showed that the risk of developing NAION more than doubled after long-term use of semaglutide, compared to patients taking medicines from other classes. The EMA said it has reviewed all available data on NAION with semaglutide, including data from non-clinical studies, clinical trials and post-marketing surveillance. It has recommended the drugmaker to update prescribing information for medicines containing semaglutide to include NAION as a side effect with a frequency of "very rare". The U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
STV News
a day ago
- STV News
Mum left 'helpless' after baby son diagnosed with rare life-limiting disease
An Aberdeen mum has called for more support to be made available for those with rare conditions after her son was born with a life-limiting disease. On August 30 last year, Bobbie Hardingham and Callum Booth welcomed Tommy Booth into the world. He was born four weeks prematurely and kept in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary's neonatal unit due to his low body temperature. After undergoing numerous tests, medical teams were unable to identify the issue. Less than one month after welcoming their boy into the world, the couple returned to the hospital as Tommy was having difficulty breathing and his body temperature dropped to 28C. Tommy was airlifted to Edinburgh for treatment and further tests and scans. Doctors still had difficulty identifying the route of the youngster's problem. STV News Tommy Booth was diagnosed with Menkes disease. Finally, a genetic test was carried out, which revealed that Tommy had an adrenal deficiency affecting his kidneys. The family believed Tommy would be on steroids for the rest of his life however on April 2, the couple were told it was 'not good news' by doctors. Tommy was diagnosed with Menkes disease, a rare, inherited X-linked recessive disorder that affects copper metabolism. Symptoms include kinky and sparse hair, hypothermia, developmental delays, and seizures. According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, the condition affects one in 35,000 live male births. A majority of children born with Menkes disease do not live past the age of three. Bobbie says she felt 'helpless' after being told her son had an incurable condition. The mum told STV News: 'I just broke down, I couldn't believe it. 'I didn't understand it fully at the time. When the doctors said there was nothing they could do, you just felt helpless and felt you'd done something wrong. STV News Tommy Booth received the diagnosis following a genetic test. 'But of course, we haven't done anything wrong, this just happened. There aren't any words to describe how you feel at that time. You just feel numb. 'There were no leaflets about support, it just felt isolating.' The family believe the ordeal their nine-month-old son is facing has completely shifted their perspective on life. Bobbie added: 'There were things I'd moan about in the morning that I wouldn't complain about anymore. 'When you get hit with something like that, it changes you. To be honest, I don't know how we are coping. 'Our family and friends have been encouraging us and supporting us. If we didn't have them around us, I don't know how we'd continue.' Tommy's condition has deteriorated over time, meaning he is unable to sit up, grab things or smile. He has also started to have seizures, and his parents believed at one point, he would no longer be able to eat. The 36-year-old mum hopes sharing her son's story will help other families across the country notice the signs of the condition. Bobbie also believes that more help should be made available for those living or caring for someone with a rare condition. Bobbie said: 'We want to raise awareness of this awful disease. 'We need to make Tommy as happy as we can. As a family, we can make as many memories and show Tommy as much love as we can. 'We need to make sure that Tommy is as comfortable as possible. For children with rare conditions, there isn't that support. STV News Tommy's mum believes more should be done to support those with rare conditions. 'There's hundreds and thousands of children with conditions that don't have the support they need.' The Scottish Government says it remains 'committed' to raising awareness of rare conditions and ensuring support is available. A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'We are very sorry to hear about this family's experience, and our thoughts are with them as they navigate the challenges of this extremely rare and life-limiting condition. 'We recognise that living with a rare condition can have a significant impact not only on the individual but also on their families and carers. 'That is why we are committed to improving care and support through our Rare Disease Action Plan for Scotland, which focuses on faster diagnosis, better coordination of care, increased awareness among healthcare professionals, and improved access to specialist services.' A fundraiser has been set up to support Tommy's medical needs. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
