Marketed under the name, Saxenda, Liraglutide, an injectable diabetes drug, was approved by the FDA in 2014 to treat those patients who have tried unsuccessfully to lose weight. After a one year study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, reports reveal that the drug is, in fact, effective in treating uncontrolled weight gain, with study subjects losing an average of 18 pounds over a one-year period. Although many insurance companies initially hesitated to approve Saxenda for weight loss, the drug is now being prescribed by physicians across the country for overweight patients who have a body mass index of 30 or greater or patients with a body mass index of 27 accompanied by one other weight related condition, such as high blood pressure.