New research suggests that weight loss injections may not only help people lose weight but could also reduce the risk of developing certain cancers.
The study published in eClinicalMedicine, found that people who took the injections had about the same risk of developing obesity-related cancer as those who had weight loss surgery.
As per NHS, being overweight or obese is the second most common cause of cancer in the UK.
Research:
The study looked at people who were obese or had type 2 diabetes and had never had cancer before.
Some of them had weight loss surgery, while others took a type of weight loss drug called GLP-1 receptor agonists.
Result:
After about 7.5 years, a similar number of people in both groups developed obesity-related cancers like breast, bowel and womb cancer.
The analysis showed that 150 out of 3,178 people who had weight loss surgery got cancer, while 148 out of 3,178 who took GLP-1 drugs got cancer.
In fact, people taking the drugs had a 41% lower risk of developing such cancers compared to those who had weight-loss surgery.
Dr Yael Wolff Sagy, the study's co-lead author said in a statement, noting, "We do not yet fully understand how GLP-1s work, but this study adds to the growing evidence showing that weight loss alone cannot completely account for the metabolic, anti-cancer, and many other benefits that these medications provide."
However, experts cautioned that while the observation data may shown a patter, it can't confirm that these medications directly impact cancer risk.
