Weight loss injections are becoming increasingly popular in society. It is said to have already been used by top athletes. According to researchers, it clearly has a performance-enhancing effect.
There is currently very intensive training in Tenerife: The women’s national team of the German Judo Association is currently completing a course on the Canary Islands. Anna Monta Olek, vice world champion from Hanover, is also there to trim her body for peak performance.
She starts in the weight class up to 78 kilograms. So that she can bring this weight on the scales on the crucial days, she trains in the traditional way shortly before the competitions. She sweats out enough water to meet the competition requirements. “You can eat it again afterwards. Otherwise you’ll lose energy. I don’t know anyone who does it differently.”says the 23-year-old to the sports show. It would supposedly be easier.
However, she had not yet heard anything about the weight loss injection, with the help of which more and more people lose weight within a very short period of time, in connection with athletes. “I’ve read this on the internet about celebrities from the USA”says Olek.
Hardly hungry anymore thanks to the weight loss injection
Eduard Trippel, vice Olympic champion in the up to 90 kg class, is not yet aware of any competitor who would use the weight loss injection. He doesn’t use it himself either. “We athletes all have such a low fat percentage and are so trained that we would only lose energy, which of course we don’t want“, says the 28-year-old to the sports show. Athletes are said to have already used the drug at the Olympic Games in Paris.
What actually happens when the active ingredient (semaglutide) of the weight loss injection is injected? The drug mimics the effects of the body’s own hormone GLP-1. It significantly reduces the feeling of hunger, at the same time increases the feeling of satiety and delays gastric emptying. Mainly fat and only a little muscle mass are broken down in the body.
Ride the razor blade
Hans-Georg Predel from the Institute for Circulatory Research and Sports Medicine at the German Sport University in Cologne clearly sees injecting the drug as a performance-supporting measure.
“The approach based on the satiety center, whereby I hardly eat anything three or four days before the competition, is a razor’s edge ride. Anyone who doesn’t consume any calories is low in energy. That would be more of a strategy in the months before a competition. We have to look at it from a time perspective,” says Predel.
improving the Performance?
According to Predel, losing fat a few months before a competition can be attractive for athletes. “If I carry around less fat mass and at the same time maintain my muscle mass, these could be very interesting effects that improve performance“says Predel.
According to the scientist, some sports are predestined for exactly this.”Let’s think about wrestlers, judoka, boxers. Where it is very important that I get into the lower weight class.”says the sports and performance medicine specialist.
Weight loss injection is still legal
And it is precisely these effects that the doping investigators are likely to take into account. The use of the weight loss injection before and during the respective competitions is still legal. “The Nada (National Anti-Doping Agency) and the Wada (World Anti-Doping Agency; both editor’s note) have put the drug on the watchlist, which honestly surprises me.”says the 66-year-old.
This means that the active ingredients are currently “only” under observation. Since semaglutide has not yet been banned, there are currently no consequences for athletes if the drug is detected in their possession. There are currently no reliable studies on consumption habits or the specific effects of the drug in terms of possible performance improvements or health aspects.
However, the athletes are already being tested for substances as part of doping controls in order to collect data on the frequency of consumption. However, WADA does not answer whether urine and blood samples submitted at the Olympic Games in Paris were tested for semaglutide.
From the watch list to the doping list?
For the doctor Predel, a possible ban on weight loss injections for athletes is probably only a matter of time. “All strategies that were otherwise used pharmacologically ended up on the doping list sooner or later.”says Predel.
Doping not only includes certain medications, but also strategies to improve performance. “I’m very curious to see whether we can get away with it very quickly Watchlist slips onto the doping list because it includes everything that could become doping-relevant,” said the doctor.