The Fat Fighting Jab

A new anti-obesity jab has been hailed by researchers as being almost twice as effective as current fat loss pills in the battle of the bulge.

The new anti-fat jab, called liraglutide, can reportedly help overweight people to lose a stone in 5 months. The drug also cut blood pressure and improved glucose control in those with pre-diabetes – a condition which can lead to full-blown diabetes.

Liraglutide, also known by its brand name Victoza, has been licensed for use on obese patients by prescription in Britain since July. For the latest study, 564 patients were either given daily doses of liraglutide, a ‘dummy’ jab administered once a day, or orlistat pills – another fat-loss treatment.

All the volunteers, who were clinically obese or severely obese, also followed a calorie-restricted diet and increased their physical activity. However, it was the group given liraglutide who lost significantly more weight than those on the placebo and orlistat. Almost 75% lost more than 5 per cent of their body weight on liraglutide, compared with 30% on the placebo and 44% of those taking orlistat.

At the start of the study, carried out by Professor Arne Astrup and colleagues from the University of Copenhagen, around a third of patients in each group had prediabetes but using the drug cut this condition by at least 84 per cent.

Amy Lindsay – MyFaceMyBody.com Journalist

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