Weight loss drug may help reduce risk of diabetes by 80 percent!

New Delhi: Being overweight has often been considered as one of the biggest causes of diabetes. Numerous studies linking the two have shown results confirming it.

However, a new study has said that a weight loss drug called liraglutide 3.0 mg, when combined with a bit of diet and exercise, may reduce risk of diabetes by 80 percent in individuals with obesity and prediabetes.

The results of the international clinical trial showed that liraglutide promoted weight loss by interacting with the areas of the brain that control appetite and energy intake.

Published in the journal The Lancet, the results showed that three years of continuous treatment with once-daily liraglutide 3.0 mg, in combination with diet and increased physical activity, reduced the risk of developing the Type 2 diabetes.

In fact, the condition was reversed in 60 percent of those borderline diabetics and patients returned to healthy blood sugar levels, the study showed.

"Liraglutide promotes weight loss by activating brain areas that control appetite and eating, so that people feel fuller sooner after meals and their food intake is reduced," said Carel le Roux, Professor at Imperial College London.

"Although liraglutide's role in weight loss is well known, this is the first time it has been shown to essentially reverse prediabetes and prevent diabetes, albeit with the help of diet and exercise," le Roux added.

Of the patients who did go on to develop diabetes, those who were given liraglutide, took nearly three times longer to develop the disease.

In addition, liraglutide also helped patients lose seven percent body weight compared to only two per cent in the placebo group, the researchers said.

"Liraglutide 3.0 mg can provide us with a new therapeutic approach for patients with obesity and prediabetes," explained John Wilding, Professor at the University of Liverpool.

(With IANS inputs)