Diabetes drug used for weight loss. Sid: “Improper use puts health at risk”

The complaint of the Italian Society of Diabetology after the Aifa notes which reported the shortage due to off-label consumption to lose weight: “Risk of excessive weight loss for non-diabetics and shortage of the drug for type 2 diabetics”

09 MAR –

“We are concerned because the improper use of the drug – declares the President of the Italian Society of Diabetology, Angelo Avogaro – determines the repercussions on its use by diabetic patients and a risk to the health of non-diabetic people. We at Sid hope that the situation can be resolved in the short term”.

“On the one hand – continues Avogaro – it is an effective drug in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and the lack of such an important drug penalizes patients. The risk is that the compensation for the disease from a metabolic point of view is lost, with a consequent worsening of the pathology and long-term complications. Stopping the use of these drugs also causes a ‘rebound’ in the diabetic’s weight. In practice, this shortage of the drug exposes the diabetic to the typical risks of when a treatment is interrupted”.

“On the other hand – warns the President of SID – the improper use of the drug by healthy people can lead to excessive loss of body weight and this is absolutely not favourable. When you lose a lot of weight you also lose muscle mass, a negative picture that leads to the distortion of the metabolic picture. In the long run, improper use can lead to metabolic alterations harmful to health”.

“For this reason – concludes Avogaro – we hope that there will also be regulation in the social sector so as not to encourage an improper medicalisation of society”.

March 09, 2023
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