Elderly sent new warning over weight loss jab side effect

Vulnerable people have been warned about the emerging and potentially "devastating effects" of jabs used for weight loss. Resarch has shown the injections cause patients to lose their bone and muscle density, which doctors warned could be particularly harmful for sufferers of conditions such as osteoporosis.

Analysis by the University of Liverpool found up to 40% of the weight lost while using GLP-1 jabs was muscle and bone. Professor Carl Heneghan, director of Oxford University's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, said: "Any drug that reduces muscle mass and bone density is a bad idea for people who are frail and those vulnerable to fractures with osteoporosis."

He added: "The evidence is clear – these drugs carry significant risks and the longer a patient stays on them, the greater the risk."

Rather than "medicating large swathes of the population as a quick fix to the obesity pandemic", he urged for the focus to shift towards preventing obesity.

Approximately half a million people in the UK now take GLP-1 drugs, which clinical trials showed can help patients lose up to 20% of their body weight.

"This is an emerging field of research and people need to be warned that using these drugs increases the risk of losing bone and muscle as well as fat," Julia Thomson, a specialist nurse with the Royal Osteoporosis Sociey (ROS), told the Sunday Express.

She added: "Bone and muscle health is key to preventing the risk of falling and fractures which can lead to premature death or else have a devastating effect on people's ability to live independently."

Osteoporosis is a condition that weakens bones, making them more fragile and prone to fractures. It's often diagnosed when a fall or injury causes a bone to break, though it develops slowly over time.

Older people and women are at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis, especially after menopause when a decline in oestrogen levels accelerates bone loss.

Thomson added that it is "essential" the drugs are only prescribed after a discussion with a doctor.

Dr Taher Mahmud, founder of the London Osteoporosis Clinic, highlighted the importance of patients learning about "good nutrition and weight-bearing exercise".