enhance-d, June 2024
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Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs like Wegovy have created a massive hype since their effectiveness in reducing body mass became evident. Novo Nordisk developed these drugs originally to treat type 2 diabetes. The drug consists mainly of a synthetic version of the GLP-1 hormone produced in the intestines. The semaglutide drugs mimic GLP-1 by stimulating insulin release to help reduce glucose levels for type 2 diabetes patients.
As a side effect, they increase feelings of fullness and slow digestion, which fuels the rush on these medications to treat obesity or reduce weight for vanity reasons. The hype is concerning because it reinforces the belief in the population that these drugs, developed to treat a severe clinical condition, can miraculously help with weight loss.
Using these drugs for weight loss comes with consequences. They are costly and create a significant dependency because as soon as the patient stops injecting them, all benefits evaporate, and the weight returns.
That’s why drug manufacturers, healthcare professionals, and the FDA highly recommend pairing these drugs with significant lifestyle changes, such as dietary changes and increased physical activity.
Everyone understands how difficult it can be to get into an exercise routine after prolonged periods of no physical activity or without a prior exercise history. For people living with diabetes, this is even more complex as they already need to manage their blood glucose levels throughout the day and understand what makes their blood sugar leave healthy levels. If they don’t, the consequences can be fatal.
Our team experienced first-hand how difficult it can be to understand glucose responses when we tested continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) on ourselves during the UX research phase of this project. Many factors, such as sleep, stress, diet, medication, hormones, and even non-obvious ones, such as the weather, can influence blood glucose.
Adding exercise into the mix makes it even more complex to understand the influencers and make adjustments along the way. Diabetes patients who exercise need to manage their blood glucose in anticipation of an exercise session, during and especially after exercising. The effects of an exercise session on insulin sensitivity can still impact glucose responses the following day. Frequently exercising can further improve the overall insulin sensitivity, requiring additional adjustments in diabetes management from the patient. Managing this complexity can feel overwhelming, making some patients more comfortable skipping exercise altogether.
Patients managing clinical conditions such as overweight and diabetes can find it particularly tough to start exercising because they feel left alone.
The benefits of exercising for diabetes patients are undisputed: lowering blood glucose levels through increased insulin sensitivity, maintaining healthy body weight, reducing cardiovascular risks, improving health and overall well-being, and lowering the risk of diabetes-related complications like nerve damage or kidney disease. For some type 2 diabetes patients, it is even possible to achieve remission.
As we spoke to more than 30 people with diabetes and healthcare professionals across the globe, it became evident that there is one overarching reason that makes it unnecessarily challenging for them to exercise: Lack of guidance.
Routine is very important for people with diabetes because it provides a basic level of predictability. Events that deviate from the routine, such as a travel day or some other unexpected event, force them to adapt quickly to manage their glucose levels. The same is true for exercise. Starting to exercise creates many of these new responses, which are individual, and need to be understood and managed. Additionally, the benefits of exercising also mean that the previous regular day routines likely need to be adjusted along the way.