Combo of diet, exercise and injections helped non-diabetics shed
pounds, study finds

FRIDAY, Oct. 23 (HealthDay News) -- The diabetes drug liraglutide
helps obese people without diabetes lose weight, researchers have
found.

The study authors also reported that high doses of liraglutide were
more effective at helping people shed pounds than the weight-loss drug
orlistat.

In the study, which included 564 diabetes-free obese patients aged 18
to 65 at 19 sites in Europe, participants were randomly selected to
receive one of four injected doses of liraglutide (1.2 milligrams, 1.8
milligrams, 2.4 milligrams or 3 milligrams) or a placebo once a day,
or 120 milligrams of orlistat three times a day.

All of the patients also increased their levels of physical activity
and followed a calorie-restricted diet, which allowed for about 500
calories less per day than they needed.

Weight loss among patients taking liraglutide doses of 1.2, 1.8, 2.4
and 3 milligrams was 4.8 kilograms (10.5 pounds); 5.5 kilograms (12
pounds); 6.3 kilograms (14 pounds), and 7.2 kilograms (15.8 pounds),
respectively, compared with 4.1 kilograms (9 pounds) with orlistat and
2.8 kilograms (6 pounds)with placebo. Weight loss of more than 5
percent occurred in 76 percent of patients taking 3 milligrams of
liraglutide, 44 percent of patients taking orlistat, and 30 percent of
patients in the placebo group, the researchers found.

Reduced blood pressure was noted in all of the patients taking
liraglutide. The groups taking 1.8 to 3 milligrams of liraglutide had
an 84 percent to 96 percent reduction in the prevalence of
prediabetes, which is poor blood glucose control that's not yet bad
enough to qualify as diabetes.

Nausea and vomiting was more common among patients taking liraglutide
than among those in the placebo group, the study authors noted.

"The results of this study indicate the potential benefit of
liraglutide, in conjunction with an energy-deficit diet, in the
treatment of obesity and associated risk factors," wrote Dr. Arne
Astrup, of the department of human nutrition at the University of
Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues.

Additional studies with a follow-up longer than 20 weeks are now
needed to investigate the long-term risk/benefit profile of
liraglutide, the study authors noted.

The study was released online Oct. 22 in advance of publication in an
upcoming print issue of The Lancet.