Alester Brown

How Effective is Wegovy for Weight Loss?

There are many prescription drugs to help people slim down and get healthy. But one recently approved product is gaining significant attention for its efficiency. Wegovy was FDA-approved in 2021 to treat adults with obesity.

Doctors can provide a Wegovy prescription to overweight patients with at least one weight-related health issue. It's predominantly used to address diabetes, hypertension, and more. While Wegovy has helped many patients reach their weight loss goals, how effective is it?

How Wegovy Works?

Wegovy is the brand name for an antidiabetic medication called semaglutide. Semaglutide works similarly to a naturally occurring hormone responsible for controlling your appetite. Taking Wegovy tricks the brain into thinking patients are satiated much sooner. As a result, they eat less food and create the calorie deficits needed to facilitate weight loss.

Semaglutide also helps increase insulin release. Lower dosages are often used to treat diabetes. Meanwhile, higher doses are ideal for weight loss and management.

Taking Wegovy

So how does a Wegovy prescription work? This product isn't a pill. It's an injection that requires medical professionals to administer. That might seem inconvenient, but dosing is manageable. Patients must get weekly injections just under the skin.

Every four weeks, doctors will increase the dose of the Wegovy injections. Dosing gets incrementally bigger until it reaches 2.4 milligrams per week. At that point, patients stay on the same amount until they reach their desired weight loss goals. Some continue to take it for well over a year. As long as the injection schedule continues, so will the effects of Wegovy.

How Much Weight Can You Lose?

Everyone responds differently to Wegovy. Like other appetite suppressants, it's not the drug that causes weight loss. To optimize results, patients must stick to a diet and exercise plan. Wegovy works to trick the brain into thinking the stomach is full, resulting in lower appetites and fewer cravings. But it's still up to individuals to create the calorie deficit.

Study participants dropped between 15 and 18 percent of their body weight after getting Wegovy injections for 68 weeks. Many compare those results to what's possible with bariatric surgery.

Author Resource:-

Alester Brown is a certified physician. She advises people on an online weight loss program for men at home. You can find her thoughts at weight loss guide blog.