With the growing popularity of “weight loss injections,” patches appeared on the market that supposedly provide the body with the same active substance. We checked whether this method of combating excess weight is effective.
A wide variety of fat-burning patches: glutide, wormwood, and even magnetic ones are not found in pharmacies, but they are offered en masse at AliExpress, "Yandex.Market", Ozon And wildberries, V online stores cosmetics, as well as on marketplaces in Azerbaijan And Ukraine. Manufacturers promisethat the patch will provide "a natural way to maintain appetite balance and healthy habits without pills, diets or injections." Advertise such patches and users social networks.
The drug semaglutide, developed by Novo Nordisk, appeared on the market in December 2017, when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it for the treatment of type 2 diabetes under the trade name Ozempic. Subsequently he began to be used and as a treatment for obesity - in 2021 the substance became the main component of the drug Wegovy.
Semaglutide mimics the natural hormone GLP-1 (GLP-1) and activates GLP-1 receptors in the body. First of all this is happening in the pancreas and gastrointestinal tract, as well as in the central nervous system, in particular in the hypothalamus, the area of the brain responsible for feelings of hunger and satiety. By activating receptors, semaglutide stimulates insulin secretion, reduces the production of glucagon (a hormone that increases blood sugar levels) and slows down gastric emptying. Thanks to this, the drug reduces appetite, reduces the amount of food consumed and maintains a feeling of fullness.
Clinical studies have shown that patients taking semaglutide for a long time lose V average about 10–15% of body weight. At the same time they are improving metabolic indicators: blood sugar and visceral fat levels decrease, insulin sensitivity increases, inflammation decreases. At the same time, semaglutide helps preserve muscle mass and reduces the risks of cardiovascular diseases associated with obesity and diabetes.
In addition to semaglutide exist and other drugs that work on the same principle, but are less known to the general public: liraglutide, exenatide, lixisenatide, dulaglutide, albiglutide (withdrawn from the market), tirzepatide. However, almost all of them are administered by injection: some - once a day, others - twice, others - weekly. Tablet form exists only for semaglutide. The fact is that the molecules of glutides are very large - in order for them to be absorbed by the body, it is necessary to ensure that the substance enters the bloodstream, and the transdermal method (that is, administration through the skin) is not suitable in this case. Neither microneedling nor other technologies (for example, improving skin conductivity using heat or electricity) can yet provide the necessary conditions for semaglutide to penetrate the skin. To date, there are only 15 substances and five drug combinations registered as suitable for transdermal administration. These include hormonal patches (with estradiol or testosterone), anti-motion sickness patches (with scopolamine), patches for nicotine addiction and pain relief (with fentanyl), but not patches for delivering peptides into the body.
It is most likely that the patches sold on marketplaces do not contain glutides at all - this substance is quite expensive to synthesize. Some manufacturers place information about the presence of glutides only on the packaging, but they are not mentioned in the composition.
Examination of the packages of patches also raises other suspicions. Yes, their manufacturers promise absence of any side effects. At the same time, injections of glutides may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, constipation, heartburn, headache, etc. If studied list side effects of other transdermal patches (eg, hormone patches) will be almost identical to those which have other forms of the same drugs. The situation is similar with fentanyl - the injectable form of the substance has almost the same list of side effects as the transdermal patch.
It is also noteworthy that the declared effectiveness of glutide patches from marketplaces is higher than that of other forms of the drug. Thus, one manufacturer indicates that the effectiveness of its products in relation to weight loss amounts to 97.5%. At the same time, clinical trials show that about 13% of patients received Ozempic and Wegovy, and not less than 9%, received tirzepatide, lost no more than 5% of body weight.
Finally, it is worth considering that the full composition of such patches may not be indicated at all - therefore, it is impossible to predict, for example, whether their use will cause an allergic reaction. In essence, these patches can be compared to dietary supplements (dietary supplements), and due to insufficient regulation, their use is usually associated with a number of risks. Indicative study, conducted in the USA in 2015. Then experts analyzed the actual composition of the five most popular supplements - four of them did not contain the declared active ingredient at all; instead, the dietary supplements contained milled rice, beans, wheat and popular garden and indoor plants. That same year, experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reportedthat such additives were responsible for approximately 23,000 emergency room visits. Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe that the situation has changed radically in ten years.
Medical and health experts also warn about the dangers of such patches. “This is not a high-tech form of delivery of glutides, as they are trying to push through influencers. This is milking the same pretty emaciated cow. If only because these molecules do not penetrate the skin. And not a single patch or other transdermal system has received approval from any global regulator,” writes popularizer of science, general practitioner Alexey Vodovozov. “In addition to patches, there is already an oral liquid with GLP-1, probiotics with GLP-1, drops for skin care with GLP-1. I haven’t seen toothpaste yet, but I think it’s also not far off,” he adds.
Thus, even if the manufacturer puts semaglutide or its analogue, which is very expensive to produce, on the patches, the molecules of this substance, due to their size, will not be able to penetrate the body even when using micro-needle technology. At the same time, judging by the composition of the drugs studied by “Verified”, the declared substances are not on the patches at all. At best, such patches will be harmless, and at worst, they can cause side effects (for example, an allergic reaction).
Cover image: Grok 4
If you find a spelling or grammatical error, please let us know by highlighting the error text and clicking Ctrl+Enter.
