News - 01/04/2025
Recent treatments, such as GLP-1 analogs (glucagon-like peptide-1), including Wegovy (semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide), mimic natural hormones that regulate appetite and blood sugar, helping patients reduce calorie intake and lose weight.
Who Can Benefit from These Treatments?
According the French High Authority of Health matter, these medications can be prescribed to patients with a BMI greater than or equal to 35 kg/m², or starting from 30 kg/m² in the presence of comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes after the failure of proper nutritional counseling combined with a high-calorie diet and physical activity. They offer an alternative for patients who are not eligible for, or prefer to avoid, bariatric surgery.
Who can prescribe these medications and how are they administered?
In France, these medications can only be prescribed by an endocrinologist, a diabetologist or a medical doctor with a specialty in clinical nutrition.
This medication is administered by subcutaneous injections, once a week for most.
What are the results?
Clinical studies demonstrate an average weight loss of 15 to 20% of body weight within a year using these treatments (as opposed to 25% to 35% with bariatric surgery).
What type of medical follow up is necessary?
Similarly to bariatric surgery, these medications require a regular multidisciplinary follow up. They can lead to significant weight loss in lean mass (muscles), which over time can also impact bone density. They must be combined with a high-protein diet and regular physical activity (strength training) to limit muscle loss.
Like with any treatment, these medications can cause side effects, primarily gastrointestinal (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea) but also cases of gastroparesis (a partial paralysis of the stomach), pancreatitis, depression and other risks that are not completely known yet such as thyroid cancer.
Close medical supervision is essential to ensure their effectiveness and tolerability.
What is the duration of the treatment?
To date, the available data do not allow us to determine whether the use of GLP-1 analogues should be continued for life to maintain sustainable results. This uncertainty underscores the importance of further research to assess the long-term effects of these treatments, as well as their impact on quality of life and the potential risks associated with prolonged use.
♦ To make an appointment with Dr. Bruto Randone, Digestive and Bariatric Surgeon, at the Clinique Internationale du Parc Monceau, 21 Rue de Chazelles, 75017 Paris, France, or at the Clinique Bizet, 23 Rue Georges Bizet, 75116 Paris, France, click on Contact