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Key Takeaways
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Weight loss drugs appear to increase people’s taste sensitivity
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The researchers say this may reduce cravings for sweets.
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Semaglutide alters taste responses on the tongue and in the brain
MONDAY, June 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Ozempic and Wegoby may increase people’s sensitivity to taste and reduce cravings for sweets, a new study suggests.
Semaglutide, the active ingredient in a weight-loss drug, also appears to affect the way the tongue and brain respond to sweet tastes, researchers reported Saturday at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Boston.
“Obese people often have a less intense sense of taste and an inherently higher desire for sweet, energy-dense foods,” said researcher Moika Jenstare Sebba, an endocrinologist at the Ljubljana University Medical Centre in Slovenia.
In the study, researchers randomized obese women to receive either semaglutide injections or a placebo.
Over a four-month period, researchers measured participants’ taste sensitivity using test strips containing different concentrations of flavors.
The researchers also used MRI scans to measure the brain’s response to a sweet solution dripped onto the women’s tongues before and after they ate a standard meal.
The researchers also took tissue samples to assess gene activity in the participants’ tongues.
Women who received semaglutide experienced changes in their taste perception, the way their taste bud genes are expressed and the way their brains respond to sweet things.
Gensterle-Sebber said these changes were consistent with those observed in animal studies.
“Clinicians will likely relate the findings to patients’ reports of changes in cravings for specific foods, beyond broad changes in appetite and satiety that may aid in weight loss,” Genstare-Sebbah said in a conference news release.
But Gensterle-Sebbah added that the study was done in a lab and taste perception can vary widely from person to person, so more research is needed.
Further studies will determine whether semaglutide’s effectiveness in treating obesity is “a matter of preference”, Genstaale-Sebbah concluded.
Findings presented at medical conferences should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The National Institutes of Health has more information about semaglutide
Source: Endocrine Society, news release, June 1, 2024
What this means for you
People taking semaglutide may experience changes in taste that can lead to weight loss.
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