New Orleans Saints rusher Alvin Kamara and Indianapolis Colts cornerback Chris Lammons were issued three-game suspensions Friday by the NFL for their roles in a...

With new research emerging, more questions have been raised about weight-loss injections, how they work, and the risks involved. Here are some of your questions answered. What are weight loss injections? Championed by some celebrities, including Elon Musk, weight loss injections were originally created to treat people with type 2 diabetes and other weight-related health issues. They are a type of prescription-based medical treatment that interferes with your metabolism, regulates your appetite and as a result encourages weight loss. The drugs belong to a class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, or GLP-1 RAs, which mimic the GLP-1 hormone, released in the gut after eating some food. The only FDA-approved stomach injections to help with weight management are semaglutide — sold under the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus — and liraglutide — sold under Saxenda. But others are in development. Helen Knight, programme director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said: “We know that management of overweight and obesity is one of the biggest challenges our health service is facing with nearly two-thirds of adults either overweight or obese. It is a lifelong condition that needs medical intervention, has psychological and physical effects, and can affect the quality of life. “But in recent years Nice has been able to recommend a new line of pharmaceutical treatments which have shown that those people using them, alongside changes to their diet and exercise, have been able to reduce their weight.” How do they work? According to Nice’s independent appraisal committee, drugs like semaglutide should only be prescribed to patients as an alternative for weight management — alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity in adults. They should also have a BMI of at least 35.0 kg/m2 (this is medically classified as obese), and especially, to people with a BMI of 30.0 kg/m2 to 34.9 kg/m2, have non-diabetic hyperglycaemia (blood sugar that is above normal but below those needed to diagnose diabetes) or are at high risk of other weight-related conditions such as strokes and heart attacks, due to other factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Using semaglutide as an example, a typical dose for weight loss is 2.4 milligrams, administered weekly as under-the-skin self-injections. How are they going to be rolled out? Nice formally recommended liraglutide, orlistat and semaglutide as medicines suitable to use for weight loss earlier this year. And with such drugs also available through online pharmacies by private prescription, a growing number of people have tried the jabs. If they are prescribed alongside a reduced-calorie diet, increased physical activity, and behavioural support, after a year, people taking them can lose up to 15% of their body weight, with results visible within the first month, according to the Nice clinical trials. Some weight loss injections are available on the NHS, but they are only prescribed under certain circumstances. Following an announcement of a £40 million two-year pilot on June 7, the government have said more people living with obesity will have access to the newest and most effective obesity drugs to help cut NHS waiting lists. What are the possible side effects? Europe’s drug regulator The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is investigating whether patients using some weight loss and obesity jabs are at risk of suicidal thoughts and thoughts of self-harm, which highlights some of the controversy surrounding the phenomenon. The EMA safety committee said it is looking at cases among people who use a semaglutide or liraglutide-containing medicine for weight loss – where “signals” were raised by the Icelandic Medicines Agency. “A signal is information on a new or known adverse event that is potentially caused by a medicine and that warrants further investigation,” the EMA said. “The case reports included two cases of suicidal thoughts, one following the use of Saxenda and one after Ozempic. One additional case reported thoughts of self-injury with Saxenda. “The semaglutide-containing medicine Wegovy and the liraglutide-containing medicine Saxenda are authorised for weight loss, together with diet and physical activity. “Suicidal behaviour is not currently listed as a side-effect in the EU product information of these medicines.” If you have a history of medullary thyroid cancer, gallbladder disease, or even pancreatitis, you should avoid taking weight loss injections like semaglutide. People who do take the prescription drug for weight loss sometimes experience dizziness, fatigue, and gastrointestinal issues — the most common side effects among patients — such as diarrhoea, constipation and gassiness. They are also at risk of getting headaches and stomach conditions including vomiting, bloating and nausea. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Journalist and author Yomi Adegoke on the real-life consequences of social media What is group B strep? Charity says pregnant women ‘in the dark’ Britney Spears: I worked my ass off to get my memoir written

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If ever there was a night to try things, it was this, and so it was for Trent Alexander-Arnold. Playing in a role that was more quarterback than that associated with the No 10 on his shirt, the Liverpool star decorated an otherwise drab 4-0 win over Malta with a series of sublime balls. One of those was a brilliant strike to make it 2-0, as Alexander-Arnold at least gave Gareth Southgate something to think about from a game almost everyone else will instantly forget. There is of course a danger in reading too much into a game as utterly routine as this, but you might say it’s a start. That’s actually been rare enough with Alexander-Arnold for England, since this was remarkably only his 19th appearance. If these sort of matches have always provoked debate about whether they should even be taking place, such is the extent of the mismatch, the one element of tension is how long it will take the superior side to score. Southgate had direct knowledge of that given it was his last match in this stadium that was one of his most dismal nights with England. A goalless first half led to away fans booing and cries that the team were “sh*t”. “We’re not,” Southgate chuckled on the eve of the game here, and his players went out and proved that within eight minutes. The irony was the scoreline was exactly the same as that more miserable experience, even though England are a completely different team. The ability to use Alexander-Arnold like this showed that. He played one of many divine balls, Bukayo Saka hit it across goal and Ferdinando Apap just about denied Kane. The problem was that he denied the striker by putting it into his own goal. That was that, the game then effectively a training session, if maybe not quite as intense as the ones the players had this week. It was one of those where everyone could try things, as the circumstances led to some experimentation. James Maddison displayed real innovation with some of his touches, and it was one superb turn that set up England’s second. While the Leicester playmaker completely opened up the space around Malta’s box, he was then blocked down only for the ball to fall to Alexander-Arnold. The Liverpool star showed another from his array of deliveries by driving a superb long-range strike over the stranded Henry Bonello. The goalkeeper was at the edge of his six-yard box, but it was still sublime for Alexander-Arnold to put it where he did. There’s almost an elite golfer’s quality to him, a player who can barely be called a defender at this point. Alexander-Arnold has every single shot in his bag. He went on to emphasise that with the next goal, again supplying the pass, only for Kane to this time be felled by Matthew Gullaumier. Kane of course supplied the finish for the penalty. That made it 56 international goals in 83 games, only adding to that all-time record. This game wasn’t going down in history, though. It had barely anything of note other than Alexander-Arnold’s deployment and a few interesting appearances, as well as Ebe Eze’s debut. The England fans evidently felt the same. By about midway through the second half, the away end had significantly thinned, with the majority of the fans headed out for the local nightspots of St Julian’s. You could probably add your own line about celebrations given how much Gareth Southgate was pressed on Manchester City’s festivities before the game. He did introduce Phil Foden in the second half, amid a raft of substitutes that included Eze. One of them, Callum Wilson, also ensured the trip was worth it. The Newcastle United striker hit his second goal for England, benefiting from a penalty after the ball had somewhat unluckily hit Steve Borg’s arm. It only displayed how misguided the current rules on that are. The idea of Alexander-Arnold as a playmaker or quarterback, though, now has that bit more logic to it. The case is growing, even if it will require a few more exacting tests. Read More Gareth Southgate urges players not to cross the line with celebrations England’s future is about to be defined – and it’s out of Gareth Southgate’s control Marcus Rashford reveals pain that is ‘relighting the flame’ inside him England fans soak up the Malta sun and discuss tactics ahead of Euro 2024 qualifier Marcus Rashford couldn’t stomach Man City celebrations but England remain united ‘Serial winners’ can help England finally celebrate silverware – Tyrone Mings

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