2023-11-06 16:20:44
Updated Monday, November 6, 2023 – 15:20
The effectiveness of the injections is subject to a strict change in habits: healthy eating and regular exercise. “An aesthetic or sports doctor can prescribe it. I think its use has been trivialized”
A man injects the prefilled drug into a pen.DOUGLAS CLIFF
One of the great concerns given the avalanche of good results of Ozempic y Saxenda It is its indiscriminate use and on people who do not really need it. José Manuel García, member of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Diabetes Federation (FEDE), is blunt: “This is not to lose two or three kilos. It’s a weapon against obesity and diabetes. For patients.” The forcefulness of his words is due to the fact that their use became popular through social networks months before the summer and then there was a stock outage and a shortage of them.
“In fact, it is getting worse and worse, because it is no longer just Ozempic, Saxenda (liraglutide) has also broken stock. We have a shortage problem,” explains Olga González, head of the Endocrinology Service at the Gregorio Marán Hospital in Madrid.
And he emphasizes that “It is not intended for patients who are slightly overweight, that what they should do is modify their lifestyles. In some private clinics it is being offered for people who want to lose six kilos but that is not appropriate. The drug should be reserved for people with obesity, which is a very serious disease“.
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Clotilde Vázquez, head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition department of the Jimnez Díaz Foundation (FJD) is also blunt: “Given what has happened, we believe that prescribing drugs for obesity should, at least initially, stick to obesity units or very specific situations. “We must avoid this situation.”
Because, as the head of the FJD explains, “right now, simply with a membership number the drug can be prescribed. An aesthetic or sports doctor may prescribe it. I think the use has been trivializedsometimes indicating it to lose a few kilos and that has an impact on the treatment of patients with very serious problems, such as obesity or diabetes.
In fact, only the title of the document from the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps) that regulates its use is already quite descriptive about its purpose: “Therapeutic Positioning Report of semaglutide (Wegovy) as complement to a low-calorie diet and increased physical activity for weight controlincluding weight loss and maintenance, in adults with obesity, or overweight and associated comorbidities.
In it, it is specified that it will remain restricted its prescription to “adults in a situation of obesity (30 kg/m2), overweight (27 kg/m2 to <30 kg/m2) in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbidity, such as changes in blood glucose (prediabetes or DM2), arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, obstructive swine apnea or cardiovascular disease".
One of the obstacles in Spain is that it is not financed for this purpose. “This should be reconsidered, because obese patients need it. And “Not everyone can afford the costs, about 300 euros a month.”, claims Cristbal Morales, member of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Obesity Society (Seedo). “In Spain there is currently no financing for any obesity drug,” denounces González.
From the Fede, as patients, they also demand coverage. “We must not forget that this is not just a pill or an injection. It is a pharmacological ‘aid’ with which the results are seen. of the changes in diet and physical exercise,” says García. “And, of course, those influencers who used it for a few months and that’s it, now they don’t because they don’t see the effects.”
Morales remembers the basic rules of operation of LPG-1. “They have the effect if they are accompanied by a change in habits. A balanced diet, not a diet, and regular exercise. Otherwise they don’t work. It is a radical lifestyle change. In many cases, obesity is not the patient’s fault, which is why tools must be made available to them.”
The spokesperson for diabetic patients attests. “For people who have tried everything without success, this is a very important solution. If you see that the results are maintained, you eat better and do more sports. In the end, you feel better. Which mental health also benefits“.
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