New light shed on who benefits most from weight-loss jabs

New light shed on who benefits most from weight-loss jabs8 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GooglePhilippa RoxbyHealth reporterGetty ImagesPeople who carry variations in two genes linked to appetite and digestion can lose more weight when taking drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro to treat obesity, research suggests.The findings, outlined in the Nature journal,, could explain why some people lose far more weight than others and why some have particularly bad side-effects, such as nausea and vomiting, while taking them.The popular medicines slow down digestion and remove feelings of hunger by acting like a natural gut hormone that makes users feel full.While genes may play a relatively modest role in influencing how well these drugs work, experts say other factors as your sex, age, and even where you come from can also have an impact.It is thought at least 1.6 million people in the UK have tried weight-loss drugs in the past year, and that number is expected to rise.Most are being bought privately through online pharmacies. The NHS only offers Wegovy and Mounjaro to a small percentage of people who have obesity and other related health issues.The percentage of body weight lost when taking weight-loss medication can vary widely. Drug trials suggest 14% weight loss on semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) and 20% on tirzepatide (Mounjaro).In this study, based on the experiences of 15,000 people taking weight-loss medications, they lost an average of 11.7% of their body weight during roughly eight months of treatment. But there was huge variation - some lost 30% of their weight, while others lost little or nothing.All of those 15,000 had previously signed up for gene-testing by the company 23andMe, which extracted analysis from its database to chart the experiences of people taking weight-loss drugs. By analysing millions of their genetic variants, the researchers found a pattern suggesting a link between some variants and the effectiveness of the drugs.Professor Ruth L...