Can Rybelsus help you lose weight? Here's What You Need to Known.
Obesity is regarded among the the chief risk factors for Diabetes Mellitus, and as per statistics, 90% adults with type 2 Diabets are obese, which in turn considerably increases the risk for cardiovascular issues and kidney disease. The WHO European Obesity Report 2022 has shown almost 60% of adults are obese, which puts them at increased risk of Type-2 Diabetes.
A word on Rybelsus
Among the various treatment options for DM, oral Semaglutide or Rybelsus is a FDA-approved product that has the distinction of being the first GLP-1 ( Glucagon like Peptide ) that comes in handy with patients unwilling or unable to self-administer injectable anti-diabetics, or those intolerant to Metformin. Most importantly, it has been medically proven to help reduce weight.
Rybelsus is a prescription medication that can be obtained from pharmacies or from GP offices with an outlet for dispensing medicines. Most importantly, you can buy Rybelsus online. Online procurement ensures that you get the medication at your doorsteps at affordable prices. Because of its dual effectiveness in maintaining glycaemic parameters and working on excessive weight, it has emerged as a prominent weight loss option in diabetics who suffer from increased BMI and other related anomalies.
What do studies say about Rybelsus for weight loss?
In a six-month study conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of Rybelsus in diabetic individuals with a higher BMI, 703 individuals with type -2 diabetes compared Rybelsus 7 and 14 mg with a sugar pill with both treatment forms combined with diet and exercise
Subjects with a BMI of 195 lost three pounds with a sugar pill. In contrast, the weight loss was eight pounds in people with a BMI of 194 who took Rybelsus 14 mg and five pounds in those with a BMI of 195 after taking Rybelsus 7 mg.
STEP-1 Trials results of OASIS 1, a sixty-eight-week efficacy and safety trial of oral Semaglutide, the chief ingredient of Rybelsus, have shown a statistically significant weight loss of 17.4% after sixty-eight weeks compared to a 1.8% reduction with placebo medication. Additionally, almost 89% of the participants reported a weight loss of 5%.
Phase -3 trials conducted on 709 subjects out of which 334 were given oral semaglutide and 333 given placebo medication showed a bodyweight change of 15.1% with oral semaglutide 50 mg compared to 2.4% with placebo.
Image Credit - https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01185-6/abstract
The majority of the trials reported the medication to be tolerable and produce significantly better results than the placebo medicines.
How does Rybelsus help reduce weight?
While Rybelsus in UK has been licensed for treatment of Type-2 Diabetes, off-label it has the potential to aid in weight management. It is important to understand the mechanism of Rybelus in glycaemic control to have a better understanding of its role in weight management.
Rybelsus or Oral Semaglutide is a GP1- Analogue; Glucagon like peptide analogues that exert their therapeutic impact by helping in release of insulin from the body's pancreatic cells succesfully.
It is noteworthy that type-2 Diabetes is the result of pancreatic beta cells' failure to release sufficient insulin or reduction in their numbers that, results in insulin sensitivity and subsequent hyperglycemia, that accelerates the process of Type-2 Diabetes.
Rybelsus, by binding to the glucagon-like-peptide receptor agonists ( GLP-1 ), activates the Cyclic Adenosine monophosphates with the Protein Kinase A that, in cascading amounts, stimulates insulin secretion in the pancreatic islets with subsequent management of Type-2 Diabetes.
In the process, it also binds to the GLP-1 receptors in the brain in charge of appetite and feeding behaviours to to feel satiated and have a reduced appetite.
While discussing obesity, it is important to understand that brown and white adipose tissue are two different elements. white adipose tissue that stores excess energy when in excess amounts is the leading factor behind obesity while in contrast, brown adipose tissue that dissipates stored energy as heat, is associated with a healthier metabolic phenotype.
Rybelsus or oral Semaglutide, through exerting its binding effects activates the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus-based AMPK ( Adenosine Monophosphate- activated protein kinase, an enzyme that plays a role in fatty acid uptake and cellular energy homeostasis ). The result is brown tissue thermogenesis with browning of the white adipose tissue that:-
⦁ Converts it into a healthier fat
⦁ Simplifies the fat removing process
Research has shown that the activated AMPK pathway regulates genes involved in brown tissue development and stimulates the activation of cAMP and Protein Kinase in brown adipocytes to trigger lipolysis and release free fatty acids.
Additionally, it upregulates UCP1, a protein that helps brown fat burn calories and through its increased expression, facilitates oxidative phosphorylation in the inner mitochondrial membrane to aid in the weight loss process effectively.
Increased UPC1 expression combined with mitochondrial biogenesis modulates lipid metabolism and activate both white and brown adipose tissues for facilitating lipolytic cycle and paving the path for a healthy weight reduction process.
An important advantage of healthy weight loss.
An even more interesting fact about Rybelsus is its effectiveness in fat distribution. Other than decreasing the excess fat, Rybelsus use results in increased vascular blood flow and activated glucose delivery into the skeletal muscles that in turn reduces muscle breakdown and promotes muscle synthesis.
Recent studies by Wang et al. have shown administration of oral semaglutide ( Rybelsus ) increases the microvascular blood volume by 30% in skeletal muscles and 40% in cardiac muscles but without any change in the flow velocity, giving rise to a significant increase in microvascular blood flow and simultaneously increased oxygen and nutrients delivery to the myocytes; the sum total being subsequent increased muscle strength that aids in healthy weight loss.
The myocytes being crucial for maintaining muscle mass, the increased nutrient supply results in activated glucose transport with increased myogenesis
The result was a fat-free mass evident in the third month of treatment that persisted till the end of the treatment.
What do animal studies say.
In-lab research has proved that oral semaglutide is safe and effective. In a study conducted to evaluate on the molecular properties of the medication, mice were divided into NDG ( Normal Diet Group ), HFDG ( High Fat Diet Group) and high fat diet+Semaglutide group 9 SEMA ) and their serum samples collected to evaluate blood glucose, insulin and blood lipid concentrations respectively.
Image Credit - https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/995007/fendo-13-995007-HTML/image_m/fendo-13-995007-g002.jpg
The weight of mice in the SEMA group was significantly lower than the HFD group. Aortic stiffness and inflammation was significantly less after treatment with Semaglutide, proving that the mediation could be safely used in diabetic patients with increased BMI without the risk of cardiovascular related adversities.
Semaglutide use further has the potential to reverse obesity-induced impaired aortic function along with endothelial cell pyknosis ( the pre-stage of cell death or apoptosis )
Despite its effectiveness, care needs to be taken when using it.
The sum total of animal studies and clinical research have proved the efficacy of Rybelsus in weight loss while simultaneously improving the glycaemic parameters. Considering the fast growing incidence of obesity in UK because of diabetes or other causative agents, buying Rebelsus in UK for weight loss can successfully kickstart your weight-loss journey and help you navigate the weight loss parameters successfully.
Even then, care must be taken in using the medication. Despite its effectiveness, the medication can give rise to side effects in the form of pancreatitis, diabetic retinopathy and hypoglycaemia in certain individuals. Most importantly, the medication needs to be combined with exercise and lifestyle changes to obtain satisfactory change in BMI.
It would be best to use it as per the advice of the GP and discuss your systemic history before using it.
Reference links:
- Adult obesity and type 2 diabetes - GOV.UK
- WHO EUROPEAN REGIONAL OBESITY REPORT 2022
- Semaglutide for Type 2 Diabetes (2 mg) - NCBI Bookshelf
- RYBELSUS® Results | RYBELSUS® (semaglutide) tablets 7 mg or 14 mg.
- https://canjhealthtechnol.ca/index.php/cjht/article/view/sr0637r/295
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7035589/
- Glucagon-like peptide 1-based therapies for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus - UpToDate)%20%5B9%5D.
- https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1398059/full
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