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• Latest study suggests that slimming medications might not be as successful for individuals with emotional consumption habits.
• These medications function by reducing hunger, thus they may not help excessive eating driven by depression.
• Healthcare professionals must evaluate a person's relationship with eating before recommending slimming medication or surgery.

Weight loss treatments are less effective for people whose consumption patterns are linked to feelings such as stress.

The finding stems from new investigation shared on a recent date in a scientific publication.

Scientists observed that GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy proved better effective for weight loss in individuals who consume excessively due to external cues like the sight or aroma of meals, compared to those who consume due to emotional reasons.

The outcomes suggest that medical providers should evaluate a person's dietary pattern before recommending slimming drugs.

"Semaglutide receptor drugs prove effective for individuals who have weight gain or elevated sugar levels due to excessive consumption triggered by external stimuli. However, their effectiveness is less in cases where emotional eating is the main reason," stated a lead researcher participating in the research.

Experts who were not participating in the research concur that emotional factors must be resolved prior to prescribing weight loss drugs or bariatric procedures.

"It's not just about excessive consumption. We must to address root issues first," remarked a bariatric surgeon.

"Everyone is different," noted another specialist. "We must to understand who a patient is and what their motivation is for overeating."

A dietitian participating in obesity treatment stated: "This is a limited study but showed an valuable insight pertaining to psychological consumption and outcomes in weight loss."

Emotional Consumption and Excess Weight

In their study, researchers monitored 92 people with adult-onset blood sugar issues who were starting therapy with GLP-1 medications.

The team tracked the subjects’ progress at the beginning, 90 days into therapy, and 12 months after therapy started.

Data was collected on weight, body composition, diet, and blood levels such as glucose and lipid levels.

These researchers focused on three types of eating behaviors:

• Psychological consumption, where people consume in reaction to negative emotions.
• Environmental consumption, where individuals consume because of the appearance or smell of food.
• Controlled eating, where people limit their food intake to lose weight.

The researchers found that subjects overall saw decreases in weight, lipid levels, and body fat percentages during the 12-month treatment. Blood glucose levels additionally improved, but the changes were not significantly significant.

But, the outcomes were more noticeable for people with external eating habits compared to those with psychological or restrained dietary behaviors.

They noted that people with environmental consumption issues had sustained improvements in their behaviors, while those with psychological or controlled dietary patterns had reverted to their baseline behaviors after 12 months.

An specialist commented that dietary patterns are complicated. Individuals can overeat due to stress.

"Consumption is a multifaceted behavior," she said. "Individuals overeat for various reasons."

Another specialist noted that it can be difficult for a physician to identify emotional issues, so those with potential dietary issues ought to be evaluated by a psychologist before any treatment is recommended.

The specialist explained that GLP-1 medications work by suppressing hunger cravings, but if a individual is eating excessively for emotional reasons, then medications and surgery might not the best option.

"Suppressing hunger may in the end fail to be very effective for certain people," the expert commented.

Another specialist stated: "We must to help patients identify the difficulties. We need to help people better understand the cues."

Dealing with Emotional Consumption

A dietitian explained that she addresses dietary behaviors variously based on a individual's specific issue.

Regarding psychological eating, the focus is on a individual's connection with food.

"Food can alter the way we experience emotions, making us feel relaxed or soothed, but a lot of the items selected when consuming psychologically are not considered healthy options, so the feeling is short term succeeded by a crash and a desire to eat additional items to become calm once more," this specialist explained. "

"This can be a difficult cycle because the item never truly heal and only provides a crutch that might lead to various adverse consequences due to a poor nutrient-dense, rich in ultra-processed dietary habit."

Regarding external eating issues, it is more focused on the cues to which a person responds.

"I have clients who will drive in their vehicle to obtain psychological consumption foods (think junk food, pizza, desserts) so the cue is not in the house, but they are craving about it," the expert commented. "

"In some, it could be that they notice, smell, or near a food and that is sufficient it requires to consume it in large amounts. This is why addressing with the underlying causes of psychological eating is so important."

For controlled dietary habits, it is more about how food is viewed.

"An aspect of a mindful, intuitive consumption approach often means permitting foods into the diet every once in a while versus saying ‘I can not have that food’ and then binging on it and feeling guilty afterward," the expert explained.

"Many prefer to look at eating as not {good|