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Heart Health

Can a diabetes drug transform the treatment of obesity?

June 1, 2021

By Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter

In studies, a weekly injection caused dramatic amounts of weight loss and improved other heart-related risk factors.

18d930aa-8020-41e7-9b62-95ee764c4864 For treating most conditions closely linked to heart disease, a two-pronged approach works best: lifestyle changes plus medication. For obesity, however, the currently available drug options simply aren’t very effective. But that may soon change if a high-dose version of semaglutide, a drug originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes, gains FDA approval for treating obesity.

Semaglutide works by mimicking a substance called GLP-1, which is made naturally by the gut and the brain. It prods the pancreas to release insulin when blood sugar rises too high; it also reduces appetite and helps you feel full following a meal.

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About the Author

Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter

Julie Corliss is the executive editor of the Harvard Heart Letter. Before working at Harvard, she was a medical writer and editor at HealthNews, a consumer newsletter affiliated with The New England Journal of Medicine. She … See Full Bio

View all posts by Julie Corliss

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