The drug Ozempic, mainly used against diabetes, has been mentioned for its rapid weight loss effect. Researchers in the magazine The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Warns now that the weight breed can lead to more lost muscle mass than in slimming – equivalent to up to 20 years of natural aging, which also Svenska Dagbladet have reported.
During the studied period of 36-73 weeks, the reduction in muscle was between 25 and 39 percent. The corresponding reduction in slimming was between ten and 30 percent.
According to the researchers, it is not the drug itself, but the speed in the weight loss that creates the effect. However, researchers have previously suggested that Ozempic could slow down aging, which BBC have reported.
Different ways of interpreting “aging”
At weight loss you lose both fat and muscle mass. To say that it means that you age prematurely, according to the chief physician and professor Ylva Trolle Lagerros, a “illustrative way” to explain the muscle loss.
– I understand how the researchers have thought. With age you lose muscle mass, so you could say that you become your older self when you reduce muscle mass. But of course it is possible to build up the muscle mass and thus become “younger” again, she says.
In addition, she believes that it is difficult to determine the importance of the lost muscle mass.
– Even if you lose muscle mass, it is difficult to judge how much it matters. You do not know how much muscle you would have had if you were normal weight from the beginning.
Karin Modig, associate professor of epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet, also emphasizes that “rapid on aging” can be interpreted in different ways.
“As an elderly, losing muscle mass so that you end up in a state where you might otherwise have been ten years later means in a way that you speed up aging. If you are young, there is every opportunity to rebuild the muscle mass, but it is much more difficult as older, ”she writes in an email to TV4 News.
Can be prevented muscle loss
To prevent muscle loss at weight loss, Ylva Trolle Lagerros recommends exercise and healthy diet.
– It’s like when you have plastered an arm, if you do not move, you will lose muscle. If you want to counteract, you should exercise regularly, preferably strength training. It is also important to eat versatile so you get enough protein, she says.
Ozempic contains the active substance semaglutide and can control blood sugar levels and reduce appetite. The obesity medication has been well debated, among other things, side effects such as eye diseases should be investigated and the drug has also been distributed to people who are not in need of the medicine.