Results of a year-long study have showed that Liraglutide, an injectable diabetes drug, that the US regulators approved last year for weight loss, was highly effective as it helped obese people lose an average of 18 pounds. Weight was reduced in most patients for the duration of 56-week study on the drug.

The drug is marketed by Novo Nordisk. Results of the trial, conducted at 191 sites in 27 countries in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Australia, have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The age of the patients in the study was 18 or above and a body mass index of them was 30 or higher. Calculations for BMI are based on weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters. According to medical experts, a healthy person has the BMI between 19 and 25.

The study results showed that 63% patients in the liraglutide group lost at least five percent of their body weight. The weight loss in the liraglutide group has been described as significant by Kevin Williams, chief of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at Temple University Health.

“This is another approach in tackling the obesity epidemic in our country. Fortunately, even modest weight loss of five percent to 10 percent makes nearly all medical issues more manageable”, said Elias Siraj, director of the Diabetes Program at Temple University Hospital.

Liraglutide is used in lower doses for treating diabetes, but some patients also witnessed weight-loss benefits of the drug. Obesity is the plight of 35% of adult Americans, or about 100 million people.