Weight loss drugs are having profound health impacts, and researchers at Virginia Tech said they’ve discovered another one \u2014 it could help people cut back on alcohol.<\/p>\n
Weight loss drugs have profound health impacts, and researchers at Virginia Tech said they\u2019ve discovered another one.<\/p>\n
Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with serious health risks, including liver disease and increased cancer rates. However, a new study from the university reveals that GLP-1 agonist drugs \u2014 commonly used for weight loss \u2014 affect alcohol absorption in the same way they influence food digestion.<\/p>\n
These medications slow the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine, helping users feel full longer and eat less. Similarly, they delay the rate at which alcohol enters the bloodstream, meaning it takes longer to feel the effects of a drink. Essentially, it takes longer to get that buzz, and most people who drink socially don\u2019t like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cDelayed rewards just aren\u2019t as good as immediate ones,\u201d said Alex DiFeliceantonio, an assistant professor in Virginia Tech\u2019s department of human nutrition, foods and exercise who co-authored the study<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re used to feeling buzzed immediately after downing a shot or two of liquor, that won\u2019t be the case while on weight loss drugs. While the body does eventually absorb the alcohol, it\u2019s going to take longer.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that early on of when you kind of are just drinking and you\u2019re feeling those effects of drinking, if you delay that, people seem to like drinking less,\u201d DiFeliceantonio said. \u201cIf you change that feeling, you can change the addictive potential of the drug, and you can kind of just change how people interact with the drug.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of which weight loss drug someone was on, she added, the results were pretty much the same.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t really have a lot of great treatments for alcohol use disorder. Relapse is very common,\u201d DiFeliceantonio said. \u201cMaybe these drugs could be useful for helping people who really want to cut back on their drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n