Surprising health benefits to injectables like Ozempic and Wegovy
+ Belly fat? Learn why we gain weight in our midsection — and what to do about it
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The health benefits (beyond weight loss!) of GLP-1 medications will shock you
BY ANNE HOLUB
Weight-loss medications under the category of GLP-1 RAs have made a lot of waves in the last few years, from celebrity shockers in entertainment magazines to the evening news desk. But besides the “Is it Ozempic?” whispers in Hollywood circles, weight-loss injectable medications are also raising eyebrows (in a good way) in doctors’ offices — and not for reasons you might think!
What are GLP-1 RAs? Are they all the same?
GLP-1 RAs are a category of injectable medications that have become very well-known of late, partly for their brand names — Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Trulicity, and Rybelsus are just some of the meds you’ve likely heard of. The official name for these medication types are glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs). In a nutshell, they mimic the GLP-1 hormone which your gut releases in response to eating.
“One role of GLP-1 is to prompt the body to produce more insulin, which reduces blood sugar (glucose). For that reason, health care providers have used [semaglutides] for more than 15 years to treat Type 2 diabetes,” notes a 2023 article by UCLA Health.
In 2014, the GLP-1 RA drug Saxenda (a liraglutide) was approved for use in patients with Type-2 Diabetes who also struggled with obesity. But in 2021, a bunch of other GLP-1 RAs came on the market — like semaglutides (Wegovy, Ozempic), which have added benefits showing up in studies outside of just weight loss. While Ozempic was originally designed only for type 2 diabetes management, Wegovy (also manufactured by Novo Nordisk) is approved for weight loss.
8 more benefits doctors are seeing from semaglutides
Studies have been ongoing since semaglutides were approved by the FDA, and a few have been showing remarkable benefits outside of (or even instead of) weight loss.
1. Lowered chances for kidney disease by 24%
A May 2024 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that “semaglutide reduced the risk of clinically important kidney outcomes and death from cardiovascular causes in patients with Type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.”
2. Lowered risk for cardiovascular events by 20%
This discovery led the FDA to approve Wegovy to reduce cardiovascular death, heart attack, and stroke in adults with cardiovascular disease and who were overweight or obese. Since the majority of people with cardiovascular risk do NOT have diabetes, this is a really exciting connection.
3. Reduced risk of colorectal cancer
According to a study published in JAMA Oncology in December 2023, “a potential protective effect against [colorectal cancer] partially mediated by weight loss and other mechanisms not related to weight loss.”
4. Possible lowered risk of dementia
“If you have diabetes at the age of 55, your risk of developing dementia sometime before you die is nearly 350% higher than if you don’t have diabetes,” said Sudha Seshadri, MD. The drug is currently in additional studies with patients experiencing early-stage Alzheimer’s.
5. Possible lowered risk of pancreatitis
Just in June, research presented showing a potential link between semaglutides and a lowered risk of pancreatitis.
6. Potential help for substance abuse
Since semaglutides have been known to affect certain receptors in the brain, some very early studies are showing promising potential use of them for treating substance abuse disorders, including alcohol abuse. “GLP-1s seem to alter some of the craving and reward drive in the brain, and we don’t completely understand how that’s happening at this point,” Jesse Richards, DO, an internal medicine physician at the University of Oklahoma, who led the study, told Health. “There seems to be a decrease in the cravings or the motivation to pursue.”
7. Reduces inflammation in the body
With limited available evidence, current research offers that semaglutide can reduce circulating inflammatory cytokines and modulate immune system responses. This evidence suggests the anti-inflammatory effects of the drug itself — not simply the effects of weight loss and improved health — are creating the buzz of pain reduction in satisfied GLP-1 circles.
8. Soon … PCOS relief?
There have also been some off-label (meaning non-FDA-approved use) of the drug to treat symptoms of PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) with some early positive results!
Overall, it’s exciting to see drugs used to not only treat weight loss, but additional comorbidities that come along with it. Time will tell whether semaglutides will also have benefits for even more conditions, and their best use.
Are you on a GLP-1 drug for weight loss? Share your experience in the comments.
Belly fat: Why we women gain weight around our midsections in our 40s and 50s
If you’re like me, you’ve tried all the old ways you used to depuff that midsection bloat — to no avail. My belly seems to have a life of its own, just hanging out, no longer responding quickly to the fasts or cardio stints that worked only 10 years ago.
Of course it’s not. In our mid-forties, we experience so much change in the way our bodies operate that changing with it is the only way to honor our age — and see the results of our health efforts.
The belly I speak of is not the low, excess skin from babies or a C-section, and it’s not the poof you feel the morning after a sodium-rich dinner: This belly is the kind that somehow became a part of my silhouette (I’m currently 47), a no longer flat-ish core that makes oversized band Ts my most fitting fashion vibe.
Two types of belly fat: Subcutaneous and visceral
For someone with a weak stomach (like myself), looking at photos and even illustrations of belly fat can make you queasy. The little blobs of yellow-hued fat cells smooshed against your skin and organs form two different types of fat: subcutaneous and visceral. Both fats are biologically active, meaning they have an effect on overall body function. More specifically, the fats reside as an endocrine organ (what!) in our bodies, where their hormones affect the neighboring cells and tissues involved in metabolism, further influencing the ways our bodies process disease.
What is subcutaneous fat?
This fat lies in a layer just beneath the skin and has many functions like protecting muscles, helping blood vessels and nerves move from skin to muscles, controlling your body temperature, and attaching your skin to your muscles and bones with connective tissue.
What is visceral fat?
This fat lies beneath our abdominal walls, surrounding our liver, intestines, and other organs. Researchers have linked visceral fat to a wide variety of diseases, low-level inflammation, heart disease, and other chronic conditions. This is the fat that can really harm us.
The science behind gaining belly fat during perimenopause and menopause
As if perimenopause isn’t already weighing us down! Beyond the hot flashes, restless nights, and mood swings, we also have fat types and our metabolism(the chemical processes that occur when your body converts food into energy) to think about.
Estrogen
Our estrogen – essential for metabolically intensive activities like baby-making – starts to take a nosedive, typically in our mid-40s. This decrease during perimenopause correlates to the loss of subcutaneous fat and an increase in visceral fat, turning our “pear” body shapes into round “apples.”
Testosterone
For years, researchers thought that a dip in estrogen was the main factor affecting perimenopausal women’s added belly fat – that estrogen protected against it. What they’ve come to find out is that the increase in active testosterone is predominantly responsible for visceral fat – and for the increased risk of cardiovascular disease associated with it.
Muscle
While losing estrogen and testosterone, we’re gaining years – another reason for our metabolism decline. More specifically, as we get older, we lose muscle mass. Since muscle burns calories, we now burn fewer calories than we used to, so we gain fat (especially if we maintain the same lifestyle habits). Plus, studies show that our activity levels decrease as we mature, which obviously impacts our weight as well.
Sleep
Did I mention restless nights? Lack of sleep contributes to big bellies because we can’t get a good workout when we’re tired, hungry, and cranky. Plus, low energy from insufficient slumber causes us to become hungrier and adopt less healthy diets (such as quick energy fixes like sugar and carbs), not to mention, have more time in the day to snack. And then it becomes another night, another day, another pound.
Genes
Lastly, look at Mom and Dad. Do they store fat in their, err, jeans? (Couldn’t resist.) While their bellies aren’t crystal balls, if you’re starting to mirror your folks, scientists say that genetics could be partially to blame.
This article was originally published on the-midst.com here.
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X, Lauria, Head of Editorial & Content at The Midst
The Midst is a woman-owned business on a mission to empower women in midlife.