Should You Use Weight Loss Drugs? Benefits and Disadvantages

Obesity has always been a problem encountered by people of all ages. It can occur even in children below the age of five. An indicator of obesity is a person’s BMI or Body Mass Index. The BMI is defined as the measurement of a person’s weight in relation to their height. If a person has a BMI measurement of 30 or higher, then that person is considered obese. Additionally, a BMI of 25 to 30 signifies that a person is overweight. Overweight individuals may experience several health risks due to the condition of their bodies, and it can affect their mental state as well. There are times that people may get bullied because of their weight, which can greatly damage one’s self-esteem. This shows that obesity not only affects a person’s physical well-being but their mental well-being as well. Obesity is also a pressing concern for any country as it affects a large chunk of the population. Results of an obesity study show that residents of the area under consideration have weights higher than the state’s and country’s average weight.

 

To combat obesity, modern medicine has created prescription drugs that will help increase fat metabolism and suppress appetite, which helps in reducing a person’s weight. These prescription drugs have been approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), and some of these are available to the public over the counter. This has helped a lot of people to cure their obesity and solve their problems regarding weight management. It also led some people to believe that these medications can help them get rid of unwanted fat without spending time on exercise and diets. Sadly, these drugs do not work that way, and these must be taken with proper diet and regular exercise.

 

Still, weight-loss drugs continued to become more popular in the market, and then the complications started to arise. As can be seen in this article on potential Saxenda lawsuits, recent studies show that the drug could increase a person’s risk for pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, and thyroid cancer. Let’s learn more about the drug to be able to have a glimpse of the positive and negative effects of weight-loss drugs on the body.

 

What is Saxenda?

 

Saxenda is a weight-loss prescription medicine belonging to the incretin-class drugs that come in injectable doses. This drug is manufactured by the Danish multinational pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and was approved by the U.S. FDA in December 2014. This drug mainly works as an appetite suppressant. Saxenda contains Liraglutide, a chemical that regulates the appetite receptors of the brain, and this makes the body feel less hungry, thus reducing the intake of food and weight gain. As the drug was making its way to the markets, there were ongoing studies and research regarding incretin class drugs that link to abnormal cell growth in the thyroid and pancreatic cancer risks. Customers who used the drug were reportedly experiencing pancreatitis and Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma. This has led to a call for a lawsuit against the manufacturers who have put the product out of the market. Currently, the FDA warns against the use of this drug and that customers need to be mindful of the side effects of using incretin-class drugs.

 

Benefits of Using Weight-loss Drugs

 

Given the news about the risks of using weight-loss drugs, there are still some positive effects of using these medications to control weight gain and to reduce body fat. First of all, these drugs take effect quickly and show results in a week. There are cases that a patient must lose body fat in a short period of time before heading to another treatment or surgery. In these situations, weight-loss drugs can help accelerate the process of reducing body fat and making it easier for the surgeons to perform surgery on the patient because there is less body fat surrounding the concerned organs or body parts.

 

Another advantage of using weight-loss drugs is that it reduces the risks of developing complications caused by morbid obesity. These complications and illnesses typically include heart diseases, stroke, gallbladder diseases, osteoarthritis, depression, anxiety, and different types of cancer. As a person grows older, the risk of developing such complications also increases, so it is better to use weight-loss drugs to prevent this.

 

Disadvantages of Using Weight-loss Drugs

 

As effective as it is, weight-loss drugs also carry a significant risk. According to records of dietary supplement injury lawsuits, there have been dietary products that pose significant risks that are sold in the markets today without clearance from the FDA and other regulatory agencies. These drugs may cause harm after prolonged use, and they may also damage the kidneys and other internal organs.

 

Another disadvantage of using these drugs is the withdrawal symptomsaaaa that occur after terminating the use of the medication. Since the body relies on the liraglutide to suppress the appetite, suddenly stopping the effect will cause the appetite to be back,, leading to weight gain again. People relying solely on this drug to cut weight without the aid of exercise and proper diet would find that weight gain will occur again after stopping the medication. 

 

Using weight-loss drugs may come with economic, physical, and mental health advantages and disadvantages, but the best remedy to avoid being overweight is to eat healthily, follow a proper diet, and exercise daily.