Ozempic could delay ageing, researchers suggest | Hacker News Reader

Ozempic could delay ageing, researchers suggest

bbc.com

31 pointsjocker1230 comments

Im not questioning the quoted studies in any way but its either my language barrier or BBC has built a clickbaity title based on just one quote “ It wouldn't surprise me that improving people's health this way actually slows down the ageing process” Wonder what would they write had he said “it wouldn’t surprise me if people get blue skin and tiny horns…”

bbc lol

> The studies - part of the Select trial - tracked more than 17,600 people, aged 45 or older, as they were given either 2.4 mg of semaglutide or a placebo for more than three years. Participants were obese or overweight and had cardiovascular disease but not diabetes.

Exciting stuff. What does data look like in people that aren’t obese?

Calorie restriction is a well-studied (though not terribly healthy) way to slow aging. It's likely these drugs are just making it easier for people.

Calories restriction worked in a wide variety of species but was inconclusive in monkeys and was never proven in humans.

I'm not sure what standard you're using for "proven," but there are a lot of studies showing results similar to this one: https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/news/calorie-restricti...

There don't seem to be any huge, long-term studies, but here is a review of what's available as of a few years ago: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7468870/

See Roy Walford et al out of UCLA on the CRON diet. Its not a nice way to live, but it seems to be safe and healthy.

I'll have to look into it more, but from what I've seen, it seemed that people had to restrict calories so much that their immune system was underactive (which may be a large part of why it works).

Interesting, i last looked at this over 10 years ago, i assume this came to light more recently than that.

I thought calorie restriction was another order of magnitude, beyond "normal" weight. But I guess if obesity was causing accelerated ageing, you could say not being obese is delaying ageing.

It varies from study to study, but generally what I've seen for anti-aging is ~1,000 calories per day or less. I've seen it as low as 500.

Will the non-obese people be subject to gastroparesis and all that entails?

I don't think this should be downvoted. For overweight people, the benefits of these drugs exceed the risks of side effects, but for healthy people there may be no benefits.

This is a good question- I’m not sure why you’re down voted.

reducing weight is positively correlated with improved health outcomes in every respect

Doesn’t Ozempic have a bunch of serious side effects besides weight loss?

Side effect is also losing muscle mass

People who are overweight have much more muscle mass than people who normal weight.

Losing that muscle mass is normal

Fat guys can do incredible leg press and calf raise numbers.

Not only do you live longer, but you live better!

These articles are really dangerous and similar research stating such global implications when many starting points are...

"Participants were obese or overweight and had cardiovascular disease but not diabetes."

Stay fit and be active.

it's been shown that metformin reduced all-cause mortality, so this isn't surprising.

Is this due to the drug itself or due to eating less?

Another tip is to stay out of the sun.

*Another tip is to stay in the sun. The data on sun exposure has largely reversed over the last decade; sun exposure is positively correlated with improved health outcomes, but should be done in moderation as to prevent skin issues.

Where "moderation" means something like 15-30 minutes[1].

[1] https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/ss/slideshow-sunlight-he...

That link says

> In general, scientists think 5 to 15 minutes -- up to 30 if you’re dark-skinned -- is about right to get the most out of it without causing any health problems.

Yes. And people tan waaaaaaaaaaay more or work outside.

It turns out that food is also healthy for you, in moderation. Alas, we need a drug to help us moderate.

yes, because historically, food has been so scarce that we never evolved a shutoff mechanism on our own.

I don't disagree with your premise, but I also don't fully agree with it as a comprehensive explanation. Overeating seems to be a uniquely American problem, and independent of a nation's food security status. For example, the obesity rate in Japan is much lower than that of the US and I don't think that's due to them (a) not having enough food to over-indulge or (b) somehow having evolved a shutoff mechanism that Americans have yet to develop.

To me, it seems almost entirely explained by culture.

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