Weight Loss Aids - What are my options?

The Health Survey for England 2019(1) estimates that 28.0% of adults in England are obese and a further 36.2% are overweight but not obese. As a nation, we are constantly trying to tackle obesity and as a part of the fight against it, the UK government aims to restrict the in-store promotion of foods high in fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS) from October 2022.

Many of us know full well that losing weight is easier said than done, especially if you struggle with underlying health conditions. Although a healthy lifestyle is the recommended approach, there are weight loss aids available with a prescription.

At Oxford Online Pharmacy we offer a range of weight loss aids to give you the helping hand alongside a good regime of exercise and healthy eating.

Weight loss aids

Orlistat

Orlistat otherwise known by the brand name Xenical was approved as a prescription product by the FDA in 1999 and has been a popular choice for weight loss patients ever since. Orlistat works in conjunction with a reduced-calorie diet and helps to prevent the risk of weight gain before weight loss.

When you eat fat, enzymes called lipases break the fat into small molecules so that it can be absorbed into the body. Orlistat works by binding those enzymes, blocking them from breaking down some of the fat that you eat at a meal. This means that, instead of being absorbed, some fat is passed via the bowels, thereby aiding weight loss.

Orlistat is usually taken three times a day, once with each meal. It works immediately by preventing some of the fat that you have just consumed in a meal from being absorbed into your body. If taken in conjunction with a calorie-controlled diet and increased exercise, Orlistat can improve sustained weight loss.

Saxenda

Saxenda’s active ingredient is Liraglutide. It also works in conjunction with a reduced-calorie- diet, suppressing the appetite by releasing a hormone in response to food intake to create feelings of fullness and satiety.

The drug is available on prescription to those who have a BMI over 30, or over 27 for those who have weight-related medical conditions such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and sleep apnoea.

Liraglutide a glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue is used as a once-daily dose of 3.0 mg, injected subcutaneously. The medication is normally injected into the upper arm, upper thigh, or abdomen.

Wegovy

We are also excited to announce that we will soon stock a new weight loss medication called Wegovy which is known as the sister drug of Saxenda. Wegovy has the active ingredient Semaglutide and works in the same way by releasing a GLP-1 receptor hormone to create fullness.

In 2011, it was approved as an obesity drug by the FDA, and it is becoming available to UK pharmacies towards the end of 2022. The best thing is, unlike Saxenda, this medication only needs injecting once weekly.

A studywhich took place over 26 weeks, compared Liraglutide (Saxenda), Semaglutide (Wegovy) and a placebo with patients that had type 2 diabetes.  
The study was not to evaluate weight loss, however, the participants who were taking Semaglutide lost more weight than those on the placebo or Litraglutide. Those that were on Semaglutide saw the highest number of people losing 5-10% body fat than other groups.

If you would like any help or advice for weight loss or anything else, do not hesitate to get in touch, we are always happy to help!

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