“I was like, ‘I’ll try anything that comes out, because it might work for me.’” Unfortunately, he always regained the weight he lost, he told BBC Sarah Le Brocq. His experience culminated in significant weight loss due to the use of drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide, better known by their trade names Ozempic and Mounjaro.
But regaining the weight lost when you stop taking these medications is a long-term problem. Le Brocq’s case is not particular.
Weight loss medications operate by suppressing appetite, mimicking hormones that signal satiety. Its effectiveness shows significant weight loss, although a percentage of users do not respond effectively.
Long-term implications of therapy
Generally, those taking these medications begin to lose weight within the first few weeks. Although there are also so-called “non-responders”, which are between 10% and 15% of people, who lose very little weight.
Discontinuation of these treatments often results in accelerated weight gain, accentuating the importance of behavioral support and sustainable lifestyle changes. Experts emphasize that medication is not a definitive solution.
Added to this is the problem of many people who abandon treatment, either because of the cost, because their insurance companies stop covering it or because they do not want to take medications for a prolonged period, pointing to the BBC David Cummings, professor of medicine at the University of Washington.
With an agile evolution in the development of new drugs, the positive impact on health goes beyond weight loss, implying cardiovascular benefits and other health improvements. Even so, change in the food environment remains an essential point of fact to address obesity comprehensively.
Those prone to “non-responders”
There are certain groups of people who are more likely to be “non-responders” to many drugs, although the exact profile depends greatly on the type of medication and the disease.
Genetic and biological factors. Differences in our genes affect how our body uses and reacts to medications. For example, some enzyme variations, such as a lack of certain forms of cytochrome P450 or G6PD, can make a drug work worse or be more harmful. Also, conditions such as advanced liver or kidney failure reduce the response, because they alter the elimination of the drug and its concentration in the blood.
Age and sex. Young children and older people are usually at greater risk of inadequate response or adverse effects, since pharmacokinetics (absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination) change with age. Some therapeutic adherence studies also point out that in older men (76-85 years old) there is a greater tendency to abandon or alter treatments for hypertension, hyperlipidemia and neuropsychiatric disorders, which aggravates the lack of response.
Mental and neurological diseases. In diseases such as major depression or serious mental disorders, between 20% and 30% of patients do not respond well to standard drugs, even when they comply correctly with the treatment; This is related to biological, environmental and social factors. In epilepsy, approximately 30% of patients have “drug-resistant epilepsy”, that is, they do not control seizures with conventional medication.
Infections and antimicrobial resistance. In the case of antibiotics, people with a weakened immune system (due to HIV, chemotherapy or other causes), frequent hospitalizations, prolonged use of antibiotics, or young and older patients are more likely to become infected with microorganisms resistant to first-line drugs.
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