There is a lot of talk about weight loss injections right now – in this article, we’ll explain what they are and how they work.
What are weight loss injections?
Weight loss injections are a type of medicine that can be used by people with overweight or obesity to help them lose weight. Studies have shown that people who use them can achieve weight losses of up to around 20% of their bodyweight, on average. The weight loss results vary by medication and dose, and they will be different for different people.
The most common brands of weight loss injections in the UK are Wegovy and Mounjaro. Ozempic is another well-known brand, but it’s not used for weight loss in the UK.
Weight loss injections contain GLP-1 medications that work by increasing feelings of fullness after eating, reducing appetite and reducing cravings.
What are GLP-1 medications?
The two most common GLP-1 medications available as weight loss injections in the UK are semaglutide (found in Wegovy) and tirzepatide (found in Mounjaro).
Semaglutide and tirzepatide work by mimicking hormones that your body releases every time you eat:
- Semaglutide mimics the hormone GLP-1 (or Glucagon Peptide-Like-1)
- Tirzepatide mimics two hormones: GLP-1 and another hormone called GIP (or Glucose-dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide)
These hormones play an important role in the body’s response to eating food, including managing blood sugars and sending satiety (fullness) messages to the brain.
How do GLP-1 medications help you lose weight?
By mimicking these natural hormones, GLP-1 medications act on different parts of the body to help with weight loss. This includes acting on:
- The stomach - slows down how quickly food is digested
- The brain - sending messages to the areas of the brain that deal with hunger and fullness
This can help with appetite control by:
- Increasing feelings of fullness
- Decreasing feelings of hunger
- Decreasing food cravings
As a result, using GLP-1 medications can help create an opportunity for people to improve their eating habits. Positive changes to diet and nutrition can be stuck to more easily, allowing people to eat a healthier, balanced diet.
Who can use GLP-1 medication weight loss injections?
Wegovy and Mounjaro are only available on prescription, which must be provided by a healthcare professional, after careful assessment of whether treatment is appropriate.
They can be prescribed on the NHS, but they are reserved for those with a higher risk of weight-related health conditions.
This means there are many people who could benefit from using Wegovy or Mounjaro, but do not meet the NHS prescribing criteria. For these people, GLP-1 medications could be accessed with a private prescription from healthcare providers such as Genwell.
Wegovy and Mounjaro can be used by adults who have overweight or obesity to help them lose weight, if they meet certain criteria. Overweight and obesity are defined using the BMI (body mass index) measure. Overweight is defined as having a BMI of 25–29.9 kg/m2, and obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 kg/m2and over.
Prescribing of GLP-1 medications may differ between providers. At Genwell, we aim to offer an inclusive weight care programme, and we will consider treatment for people with a BMI of:
- 30 kg/m2 or more
- 25–30 kg/m2, if they have at least one weight-related health problem (see here for details) or are from a higher-risk ethnic group (see here for details)or if they have not been able to lose weight by any other method previously.
What our clinical experts say
At Genwell, our doctors and wellbeing coaches take a holistic approach to weight management. They thoroughly assess your individual suitability for treatment and personalise the dose based on your response to treatment and any side effects you experience. We will only increase the dose when it is right for you. With coaching support to introduce lifestyle changes in areas such as nutrition and exercise, you can make the most of your time whilst using GLP-1 medications to develop long-term healthy habits, whether you decide to continue taking them or wean and stop them, once you have reached your treatment goals.
Dr Caroline Butler
How are weight loss injections used?
Wegovy and Mounjaro are given as injections under the skin, once per week. They are self-injected and provided in easy-to-use, pre-filled ‘injector pens’ to make injecting as easy as possible.
Weight loss medications are not a quick fix. It is important that they are used alongside a healthy, balanced diet – containing enough protein – and increased exercise, including strength training. This helps achieve healthy weight loss that focuses on losing fat at a steady rate while maintaining muscle mass.
While using weight loss injections, it is also a great time to build healthy habits to create lasting changes for a healthier future. Not just habits in healthy eating and movement, but also in other factors that affect weight and overall health and wellbeing, like sleep and stress.
Key messages:
- GLP-1 medications can help people with overweight and obesity lose weight by mimicking the actions of naturally occurring hormones, to increase feelings of fullness, reduce hunger and reduce cravings
- Wegovy (semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide) are two commonly used weight loss injection brands in the UK. They are self-injected on a weekly basis
- Treatment with GLP-1 medications should only be started after assessment of suitability by a healthcare professional; this can be on the NHS or using a private service
Genwell Reflections
GLP-1 medications are effective, clinically proven tools to help people with overweight or obesity reach their weight loss goals.
At Genwell, we can help identify whether these treatments are right for you. We can support you through your weight loss journey, not just with individual medication advice, expert nutrition and exercise advice, but with a wider, holistic approach that considers the whole you.
Our clinical and wellbeing care team can help you identify and manage a whole range of factors that might be affecting your weight, health and wellbeing – from sleep to stress, hormones to habits, behaviours, and the emotional aspects of nutrition. We’ll support you on your unique journey to create lasting changes for a healthier future.