FDA approves diabetes drug as a treatment for OBESITY after studies found it helped people lose 15% of their body weight

 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved on Friday a new version of a popular diabetes drug to be used as a treatment for obesity.

The once weekly jab contains semaglutide, a synthesized version of a gut hormone that curbs appetite.

It is made by Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk and will be marketed in the U.S. under the brand name Wegovy.

In company-funded studies, participants taking Wegovy had an average weight loss of 15 percent, or about 34 pounds. 

Participants lost weight steadily for 16 months before plateauing while a group getting placebo shots, only lost about 2.5 percent of their body weight, or just under six pounds.

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Wegovy, made by the Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (above) contains semaglutide, a synthesized version of a gut hormone that curbs appetite and was approved by the FDA as an obesity treatment on Friday 

'With existing drugs, you're going to get maybe five percent to 10 percent weight reduction, sometimes not even that,' Dr Harold Bays, medical director of the Louisville Metabolic and Atherosclerosis Research Center, said.

Bays, who is also the Obesity Medicine Association's chief science officer, helped run studies of Wegovy and other obesity and diabetes drugs.

In the U.S., more than 100 million adults - more than one in three - are obese.

Obesity is known as a risk factor for several chronic health conditions including type 2 diabetes, strokes, heart attack and even certain types of cancer. 

However, dropping even five percent of one's weight can bring health benefits, such as improved energy, lower blood pressure and improve blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Patients inject Wegovy weekly under their skin. Like other weight-loss drugs, it's to be used along with exercise, a healthy diet and other steps like keeping a food diary. 

Novo Nordisk sells two semaglutide versions for controlling blood sugar in type 2 diabetics: a daily pill called Rybelsus and Ozempic, which patients inject weekly. 

The Danish company hasn't disclosed Wegovy's list price, but Ozempic typically costs $850 or more per month without insurance. 

Phylander Pannell, 49, of Largo, Maryland, joined a patient study after cycles of losing - and then regaining - weight. 

She said she received Wegovy, worked out several times a week and lost 65 pounds over 16 months.

'It helped curb my appetite and it helped me feel full faster,' said Pannell. 

'It got me on the right path.'

Shortly after she finished the study and stopped receiving Wegovy, she regained about half the weight. 

She's since lost much of that, started exercise classes and bought home exercise equipment. Pannell is considering going back on Wegovy upon its approval. 

Bays said Wegovy appears far safer than earlier obesity drugs that 'have gone down in flames' over safety problems. 

Wegovy's most common side effects were nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. 

Those usually subsided, but led about five of study participants to stop taking it.

The drug also shouldn't be given to people at risk for some cancers, because of a potential risk for certain thyroid tumors, the FDA said.

Novo Nordisk also is developing a pill version that should start final patient studies later this year.