The Saksanda injection, which resulted in an average 11% reduction in the body weight of adults, was approved for use in Israel for 12-year-olds as well. His life will probably gain weight back ”
The Ministry of Health has approved the Saxenda slimming injection for use by teenagers aged 12 and over – this is what we published last night (Sunday) for the first time in the “main edition”. It is an injection that increases the feeling of satiety over time, and has resulted in an average reduction of about 11% in the body weight of adults who have used it. Now the hope is that the injection will also help teens who are found suitable to use it.
So how does it work? Saksanda causes the body to secrete a protein that slows down the breakdown of food in the stomach. This means that if we ate a full meal, the hunger center in the brain would transmit to us for long hours that we were seventy. In an experiment conducted on adolescents, about a quarter of them lost more than 10% of their weight.
15-year-old Dana, one of the girls who received an unusual permit to use the injection four months ago, described her experience with Saxenda: “I take out the needle, stab and wait 10 seconds. It looks painful but it does not hurt at all.” She injects at noon, and the feeling of satiety accompanies her until the end of the day. So far she has lost 11 kilos, and the goal is to lose a hundred: “Every kilo is a blessing for me.”
“Up until this time, we had virtually no effective treatment for obesity under the age of 18,” said Prof. Ram Weiss, director of the pediatric ward at Rambam Hospital. Satiety. ”
There are several conditions for using the drug. According to Dr. Raz Hagoel, director of the Medical Center for the Treatment of Obesity, “The teens who are suitable for the treatment of this drug are 95 percent or older, equivalent to a BMI of 30 and over age 12 with a weight greater than 60 pounds.”
Moreover, avoiding snacks is a necessary condition for success, and also ensuring that each meal is based on a structure of one-third carbohydrate, one-third protein and one-third vegetable. “The question is whether the patient made the change,” Prof Weiss clarified. “If he did not change his lifestyle, he would probably gain weight back. Whoever made a change, and that gave him the impetus for that change – can keep the weight down.”
Besides Saxanda, adults have an even more effective drug called Vigobi. It results in an 18% reduction in body weight, but has not yet been approved for use by teens. It is not yet marketed in Israel, but many people use a drug called osmic in its place, which is generally intended for diabetics, but has the same active ingredient.
Saxenda also has side effects, although according to Prof. Weiss they pass with time: “The drug is very safe and effective.” Despite the nice words, Saxanda is not in the medicine basket at the moment, and until she enters, it will cost about NIS 500 every month.