{"id":69752,"date":"2024-09-26T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/debb76d5-e301-434c-9782-28c15b20da33"},"modified":"2024-09-26T13:25:25","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T11:25:25","slug":"should-cyclists-use-controversial-weight-loss-drugs-such-as-ozempic","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/should-cyclists-use-controversial-weight-loss-drugs-such-as-ozempic\/","title":{"rendered":"Should cyclists use controversial weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weight-loss drugs have been labelled a societal ‘game changer’, but will professional cyclists be tempted to use them? <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 26 September 2024 at 11:00 AM<\/p>

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Weight-loss drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, have seen people lose more than 15 per cent of their body weight and Walmart has attributed a drop in food sales to their invention and market rollout. As a result, many have labelled this new generation of drugs as a societal \u2018game changer\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>

You can see why. The World Health Organisation says 2.5 billion adults are overweight (a BMI of 25 or over) or obese (BMI over 30), with this figure predicted to tip to over 50 per cent of the world\u2019s population by 2035. In a clinical setting, these drugs promise to cure the first-world obesity pandemic and its associated diseases. But what about a performance setting?<\/p>

Cycling is a weight-based sport, leading us to predict that teams and riders are already digging deep into the research to see how these weight-loss drugs could fit into their nutritional arsenal. <\/p>

It\u2019s not as if cycling\u2019s immune from using drugs for therapeutic means for faster cycling. Think of testosterone<\/a>, growth hormone and EPO. Here, we dig into the issues at play, starting with an explainer of how these drugs work.<\/p>

Suppressing hunger<\/h2>
Elon Musk claims he lost 13.6kg using weight-loss drugs. – Kevin Winter \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u201cBoth Ozempic and Wegovy are produced by Danish company Novo Nordisk, and whose active ingredient is \u2018semaglutide\u2019,\u201d says David Stensel, professor of exercise metabolism at Loughborough University. He\u2019s also editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Obesity<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cOzempic\u2019s prescribed for diabetes, while Wegovy\u2019s a higher dose and is prescribed for weight loss in obese individuals.<\/p>
\u201cHow it works is down to semaglutides, which belong to a class of medications known as glucagon-like-peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. <\/p>
“These receptors help to increase the release of insulin, which then lowers blood glucose. Hence, its prescription for type-2 diabetics. But it became evident that another action of GLP1 is to suppress hunger and appetite by acting centrally on the brain, leading to these quite staggering weight-loss stories.\u201d<\/p>
Vis-\u00e0-vis the 15.2 per cent weight-loss figure from Novo Nordisk\u2019s studies, that equated to around 15.9kg for most of the participants. That was a couple of kilograms under Elon Musk\u2019s dramatic 13.6kg weight loss, which he revealed on X in November 2022 and, for many, was the first time they\u2019d heard about Ozempic and Wegovy. <\/p>
Further weight-loss drugs have hit the market including tirzepatide, which is sold under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound. And then there\u2019s liraglutide, sold as Victoza and Saxenda.<\/p>
Saxenda and Wegovy are currently the two brands prescribed by the NHS for weight-loss purposes with Saxenda injected once a day and Wegovy once a week (professional cycling has a no-needle policy, but pill alternatives have just hit the market). <\/p>
Viewed through a health lens, you might be able to see why these drugs are being called \u2018game changers\u2019. Through a cycling lens, could the results be similarly transformative?<\/p>
Boosting power-to-weight ratio<\/h2> $\"SAINT-GERVAIS$
Sepp Kuss holds the fastest registered time up Alpe d’Huez. – Michael Steele \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>
Power-to-weight ratio<\/a> is a key performance metric for climbing. If the left-hand side of the equation\u2019s high and the right\u2019s low, you\u2019ll fly. Now, let\u2019s see how semaglutides could impact this ratio.\u00a0<\/p>
Strava<\/a>\u2019s fastest registered time for ascending the 13.8km, 21-hairpin monster that is Alpe d\u2019Huez is Sepp Kuss\u2019 39:21mins at the 2022 Tour de France, the stage won by Tom Pidcock that included his legendary Galibier downhill masterclass.<\/p>
Now, let\u2019s use our imaginary rider, Matthew Smith, as a semaglutide guinea pig. Smith weighs 68kg. If the mighty Smith tames Alpe d\u2019Huez with a power output of 307 watts, equating to a power-to-weight ratio of 4.5w\/kg, it\u2019d take him 50:28mins. <\/p>
But if performance-seeking Smith took semaglutides and lost 15 per cent of his bodyweight, he\u2019d drop to 57.8kg, cranking up power-to-weight to 5.3w\/kg and chiselling that time down to 44:51mins \u2013 a near-6min saving.<\/p>
Okay doctor, sign me up. Not so fast. We confess our imaginary 15 per cent lighter Smith’s climbing performance is a flawed comparison, primarily because of that significant weight loss. In the trials thus far, many of the individuals hitting the figure started from a benchmark of over 100kg.\u00a0<\/p>
Recreational cyclists are generally well under that figure, especially those at the peak of the amateur competitive pyramid, so wouldn\u2019t experience anywhere near those losses. Still, that\u2019s not to say a 68kg rider such as Smith wouldn\u2019t lose weight using these types of drugs and so gain a competitive edge, but as it stands, there\u2019s a complete lack of literature looking at semaglutides in a sporting context. And with good reason, says Stensel.<\/p>
\u201cI don\u2019t think a drug designed for people with obesity or co-morbidities like diabetes would get past an ethics committee,\u201d he says. \u201cAll of the trials have been done on people of a BMI at least 30 and often much higher.\u201d<\/p>
That\u2019s not to say it won\u2019t happen down the line because we\u2019re certainly aware of studies into the performance gain delivered by EPO, designed to treat severe anaemia. Still, if athletes were to experiment with these weight-loss drugs, they\u2019d have to bypass doctors and chemists who can only prescribe for therapeutic reasons.<\/p>