Is Semaglutide a Safe Option for Weight Loss?

Diet and exercise are the cornerstones of losing weight, but sometimes no matter how much you do, you can’t seem to drop the pounds. In such instances, your doctor may prescribe a GLP-1 receptor agonist medication like semaglutide, sold under the brand names Mounjaro®, Ozempic®, Rybelsus®, and Wegovy®, to help.

At Primecare Family Practice, board-certified family practitioners Maryline Ongangi, APRN, FNP-C, and Lewis Nyantika, APRN, FNP-C, and our staff offer a medical weight loss program for our patients in Arlington, Texas, who need help losing weight. Among our many options, we may prescribe semaglutide as an adjunct to diet and exercise to maximize your results.

What is medical weight loss?

Medical weight loss is a doctor-supervised program designed to help you lose weight by providing you with resources like nutritional counseling, tailored exercise regimens, and/or meal replacements, as well as accountability and support. We’re with you every step of your weight loss journey, and we check your progress with regular weigh-ins to make sure you’re keeping to the plan and your goals.

What is semaglutide, and how does it work?

Some people need additional help losing weight, and for those patients, we offer the glucagon-like peptide 1 medications as an add-on. These medications were originally developed to treat insulin resistance in diabetes, but researchers discovered that they also had the ability to let diabetics shed pounds.

STEP 1, an industry-sponsored study presented virtually at the 2021 Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, showed that semaglutide, when administered weekly, “... through body weight loss and improvement of body composition, has the potential to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke in people with overweight or obesity,” according to the lead researcher.

When used at higher doses than are used to increase insulin production in diabetics, semaglutide acts on both the appetite centers in the brain and in the gut, suppressing appetite and producing feelings of fullness, thereby leading to weight loss.

In the treatment group, the use of semaglutide reduced excess body fat, including the more problematic abdominal fat, and increased the proportion of lean body mass. The more body weight a person sheds, the greater the improvement they see in overall body composition.

The researchers published their findings from the STEP 1 trial in the February 2021 New England Journal of Medicine.

Is semaglutide a safe option for weight loss?

Yes, semaglutide is a safe option for weight loss. The FDA approved its use in weight reduction in 2021, and it’s become a multi-billion dollar industry since then. The drug isn’t for everyone, though, so it’s important you talk with the doctor about your unique needs to determine if the treatment is right for you.

If you’re trying to lose weight and are having trouble dropping the pounds despite a healthy diet and plenty of exercise, Primecare Family Practice can help with the combination of a medical weight loss program and semaglutide.

To schedule a screening and consultation, call our office at 817-873-3710, or book online with us today.