The world of Medicine has before it a new turning point: the long-awaited magic bullet against obesity is almost here. After a century of searching for that Holy Grail drugs based on the imitation of glucagon-like peptide-1 give the first results.
The GLP-1 analogues, although more famous by their trade names Ozempic and Wegovy, are called to delete one of the pandemics of the 21st century: obesity and its effects more immediate, such as diabetes and the cardiovascular problems. In Spain alone, according to the Global Obesity Observatory, 37.8% of adults weigh more than recommended and 16% are obese.
«Hay a lot of science behind these drugs», emphasizes Cristóbal Morales, member of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Obesity Society (Seedo). «We are in a new era in obesity controlthere are more than 150 clinical trials. “It is a whole revolution of new molecules,” he adds.
Since the first description of GLP-1 in an article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences More than 40 years have passed until the current results. This long-awaited search has not only given way to drugs that control type 2 diabetes and weight lossbut they have become best-selling drugs capable of tackling the disease and also what causes it: a poor diet, that is, the processing industry.
«Weight losses are significant and with each new drug it is greater. It goes from 8% to 15%», points out Morales. Which in kilos translates into drops of more than 12 kilos in some patients.