Obesity in adolescents is associated with type 2 diabetes, hypertension and high risk of adult obesity and cardiovascular disease. Metaformin hydrochloride is commonly used to treat obesity in nondiabetic adolescents, but there is insufficient data to confirm its effectiveness as a treatment for obesity.
The scientists, led by Darrell M. Wilson, randomly assigned 77 obese adolescents aged 13 to 18 years to a program of physical activity and diet and a daily dose of metformin XR (2,000 milligrams) or placebo for 48 weeks. Of which 39 took the drug and 38 placebo. Participants were followed for an additional 48 weeks.
According to the authors, metaformin XR had a small but significant impact on BMI during the 52 weeks of the study. The average BMI increased by about 0.2 in the placebo group and decreased 0.9 in the metformin XR. The researchers note that the difference between groups was maintained between 12 and 24 weeks after cessation of study drug. Then, the average BMI of the group taking metformin increased toward the control group. (more…)
