Some people using the weight-loss treatments Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro say food tastes sweeter or saltier after they took the slimming injections or pills, a study found.

About one in five said their food tasted sweeter, while the same proportion thought it was saltier, according to research presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Vienna. The change in how taste was perceived helped to reduce their appetite, the real-world study showed.

The therapies increase the levels of incretins – hormones – which are produced naturally when you eat and reduce blood glucose levels. By mimicking the action of a hormone called GLP-1, they reduce appetite and feelings of hunger, slow the release of food from the stomach and increase feelings of fullness after eating.

“Incretin-based therapies such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are widely used for weight management but their effect on taste perception has been unclear,” says Prof Othmar Moser, of the University of Bayreuth in Germany, who led the research published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. “If changes in taste are linked to greater appetite control and weight loss, this could help clinicians better select therapies, provide more tailored dietary advice and improve long-term treatment outcomes for patients.”

Hundreds of overweight people taking Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro for weight loss for more than three months were surveyed about their sense of taste and appetite. They were asked whether their sense of taste – sweetness, saltiness, sourness and bitterness – had changed since starting treatment, as well as whether they experienced any changes in appetite and food cravings.

About a fifth (21.3 per cent) said food tasted sweeter, while 22.6 per cent found it was saltier than before. Their perception of bitterness and sourness did not change. More than half of participants (58.4 per cent) reported they were less hungry in general and their food cravings were reduced.

Those whose food tasted sweeter or saltier were twice as likely to say they felt full, compared with participants whose sense of taste did not change.

“These drugs act not only in the gut and brain areas that control hunger, but also on taste bud cells and brain regions that process taste and reward,” Prof Moser said. “This means they can subtly change how strong flavours, like sweetness or saltiness, are perceived. This, in turn, may affect appetite.”

But the study did not find any link between changes in taste perception and a reduction in BMI. The researchers suggested that is because sense of taste is only one of many factors involved in weight loss.

“Shifts in taste may affect how satisfying or appealing food feels in the moment, which influences appetite control,” Prof Moser said. “However, weight loss depends on many other factors – like metabolism, long-term eating patterns and activity – so changes to taste alone may not be enough to directly drive body weight reduction.”

Food noise

A separate study presented at the conference showed people taking semaglutide – the generic name for several of weight-loss medications – experience less “food noise” than before. The term refers to obsessive and intrusive thoughts about food and eating.

Previous research found that 57 per cent of people who are overweight or obese have experienced food noise, although few are familiar with the term.

In the latest study, carried out by researchers from pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and market research company Market Track, the proportion of participants experiencing constant thoughts about food dropped from 62 per cent before starting treatment to 16 per cent. The proportion who said they spent too much time thinking about food fell by a similar amount, from 63 per cent to 15 per cent.

Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis

In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
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‘The worst thing you can eat’

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods – Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks – Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food – Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough – Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine – Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

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Killing of Qassem SuleimaniThe five pillars of IslamUAE currency: the story behind the money in your pocketsIndoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES

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Mohammed bin Zayed MajlisThe burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

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