Increasingly, obesity is being viewed as a complex disease rather than a lifestyle problem. The pandemic has accelerated this shift in attitude. The very overweight, and those suffering from associated conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and hypertension, have been hardest hit by Covid-19.
The World Obesity Federation predicts one billion people globally will be living with the disease by 2030. To treat it, a new generation of diet drugs is being developed, with the aim of greater weight loss and fewer side effects.
The history of diet drugs so far has been fairly inglorious. Medications have been introduced and then withdrawn as they were found to cause side effects as diverse as heart damage, cancer and suicidal thoughts.
In New Zealand, four weight-loss medicines are available currently, although none are subsidised. Xenical prevents some of the fat from food being absorbed by the body, and the others work in various ways to suppress appetite. All carry potential side effects - mostly gastrointestinal problems - and result in a relatively modest weight loss.
Developing better therapies is especially challenging because they need to fight against a survival mechanism. There are multiple pathways in the body that control hunger and satiety. If you lose one, then another can come into play, says Patrick Sexton, of Australia's Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Science. An effective treatment therefore needs to be safe, well-tolerated and also target more than one pathway.
Another issue is that early drug trials tend to be done using rats, and they differ from humans in ways that may be significant.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 23 - 29, 2022 من New Zealand Listener.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 23 - 29, 2022 من New Zealand Listener.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
