IT’S impossible to escape the hype around weight loss jabs.
Most recently, scientists said the medicines could be the cancer hope of the future, and after early studies suggested they could reduce the risk of tumours, for example.
Here are all the other benefits scientists are claiming the jabs might have:
It could slash the risk of cancer…
Fat jabs could be the cancer hope of the future after early studies found they reduce the risk of tumours growing.
The world’s top experts are preparing for a research boom to find out if the wonder drugs can head off the most feared disease.
Research by Case Western Reserve University in Ohio found obese people were 19 per cent less likely to get cancer if they used the injections than people who did not.
It might cure snoring…
Researchers say the fat-blasting jabs can silence snoring by treating an underlying health condition called sleep apnoea.
It happens when your breathing stops and starts while you are asleep, causing people to gasp, snore and wake up spluttering during the night.
Around 10 million Brits are thought to have it, according to the Sleep Apnoea Trust.
Being overweight or obese can increase a person’s risk of the condition by narrowing the airways.
After conducting two studies on adults with obesity and sleep apnoea, drug maker Eli Lilly claimed its fat jab Mounjaro could cut down the number of times people had breathing issues during the night.
After 52 weeks, those given 10 to 15 mg injections of Mounjaro, on average, experienced almost 30 fewer dangerous breathing events per hour, amounting to a 55 per cent drop.
By contrast, participants taking a placebo medication only had 4.8 fewer events, a five per cent reduction.
It may ward off Alzheimer’s..
Medications like Ozempic and Wegovy could affect cognitive disorders and even ward off Alzheimer’s.
The thought stems from a Danish study that followed people with type 2 diabetes for five years.
The scientists found those on weight loss jabs were less likely to develop dementia compared to those not on the drug.
However, obesity – which is associated with type 2 diabetes – is already known to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.
This suggests it could just be the slimming effects that give it benefits against the disease.
It could boost your fertility…
Some women have reportedly become pregnant unexpectedly after taking semaglutide jabs.
This has led to some doctors in the US prescribing the medicine to treat polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), one of the leading causes of infertility in women.
Many people with the condition are overweight and found to have higher levels of testosterone, which is usually thought of as a ‘male hormone’.
Researchers reckon weight loss drugs could help regulate hormones in people with PCOS and so reduce symptoms and complications.
It might help people give up drugs, cigarettes or booze…
As it turns out, weight loss jabs can crush drug cravings in the same way they stop the urge to eat.
The jabs are known to promote feelings of fullness and, it seems, dampen the reward associated not only with food but also drugs.
A Penn University study found liraglutide was as good as a fortnight in rehab for people addicted to painkillers.
Tests on 20 people recovering from opioid addictions revealed patients who took the jabs once a day rated cravings 40 per cent lower than those having rehab.
While some patients experienced no cravings at all.
It can reduce your chance of heart attack or stroke…
The skinny jab could also cut your risk of a heart attack, according to researchers.
Being a healthy weight can slash your risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases like strokes and vascular dementia.
That’s because carrying excess weight can lead to fatty substances building up in your arteries, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) warns.
If an artery’s job is to carry blood to the heart get clogged, it can trigger a heart attack.
And if the same thing happens in an artery carrying blood to the brain, this can cause a stroke.
So, perhaps it is hardly surprising that injections that can help you lose weight might also reduce your risk of cardiovascular problems.
It might be able to slow down Parkinson’s…
For decades there have been few advancements in the battle against Parkinson’s.
But French researchers reported the first glimmer of hope – a modest slowing of the disease in a one-year study among people who used the weight-loss jabs.
Parkinson’s is a devastating nervous system disorder affecting 10 million people worldwide, with no current cure.
Symptoms include tremors, slowness and stiffness, and difficulty with balance.
That can lead to difficulty walking, talking and swallowing. Many patients develop dementia.
The paper, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, involved 156 people with early Parkinson’s disease who were randomly assigned to take the drug — lixisenatide -or a placebo and followed for a year.
During that time, Parkinson’s symptoms like tremor, stiffness, slowness and balance worsened in those taking the placebo but not in those taking the drug.
The effect was “modest” according to the researchers.
