Every year, many people commit to losing weight, and 2023 is no exception. Committing to eating healthy or hitting the gym are two of the most important resolutions among Americans this year. However, if you’ve been scrolling through TikTok, you may have seen his third option for weight loss goals. Some on TikTok claim that he injects himself with his type 2 diabetes drug called Ozempic every week to help get his tummy in shape quickly.Kim Kardashian is rumored to have used the drug to match Marilyn Monroe’s Met Gala dress (although she denies this) and Elon Musk tweeted that he was a fan.
Now, Ozempic’s newfound status as a weight loss hack is seeping into TikTok, and the drug is flying off the shelves. But increasing demand for injections has also caused drug shortages around the world, leaving diabetics without access to prescription drugs. As this trend intensifies, multiple health professionals are questioning the safety and long-term effectiveness of using off-label drugs for weight maintenance.
For those who just want to lose weight in a short period of time, “This is not a short-term weight loss solution and is very expensive for those paying close to $1,000. [if not covered by insurance]explains Rose Lynn, an endocrinologist at Providence St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica. Lynn advises that this drug is not medically necessary for people without diabetes or obesity, as diet and exercise can have positive effects on overall health.
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Ozempic is the brand name for a drug called semaglutide. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a weekly injection to control blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. It is also approved as a treatment to reduce the risk of heart problems in people with type 2 diabetes and known heart disease.
Semaglutide mimics a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that binds to the GLP-1 receptor. Activated receptors stimulate the pancreas to release insulin when blood sugar levels rise. GLP-1 also plays a secondary role in regulating appetite. Like the GLP-1 hormone, semaglutide slows down the digestive process so food stays in your stomach longer and you feel fuller. This feeling of fullness sends a message to the brain to block the release of hunger hormones that cause appetite.
Weight loss is a known side effect in diabetics taking the drug semaglutide. However, Ozempic specifically isn’t prescribed for weight loss.There is another version of semaglutide called Wegovy, which was approved by the FDA in 2021 as a weight control injection for obese adults. “Generally, this is for people with excess weight,” explains Lynn. People who are prescribed Wegovy are considered obese (BMI greater than or equal to 30) or overweight (BMI greater than or equal to 27) and have a secondary condition or disease that may cause obesity. A 68-week clinical trial found that obese middle-aged adults who received weekly injections of Wegovy lost an average of 35 pounds, while control participants lost an average of 6 pounds.
Semaglutide is an effective weight loss relieving strategy for obese people, but experts warn that being thin is not the same as being healthy. says Silvana Obici, director of endocrinology and metabolism at Stony Brook Medicine.
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If you don’t need to take medication to manage your diabetes, you probably shouldn’t use semaglutide because it poses some safety risks. Nausea from staying in the stomach for a long time. “Some patients were nauseous, vomiting and emptying,” explains Lin. Other common side effects of semaglutide drugs include stomach pain, diarrhea, and constipation. Although rare, it is possible to develop thyroid tumors, as previous studies in rodents found thyroid tumors after semaglutide injections. Its carcinogenicity in humans remains controversial. Gallbladder problems with symptoms such as yellowing of the skin and eyes, pain in the upper stomach, and fever have also been reported in people taking semaglutide.
Obici also warns that Ozempic is not very effective in maintaining long-term weight loss. “An unhealthy lifestyle when taking Ozempic may erase the benefits.” [weight loss] It’s a drug effect,” she says. A 2021 clinical trial found that most of the weight lost was regained after semaglutide injections were stopped.
This temporary weight loss may keep people on semaglutide drugs like Ozempic for a long time. Obici and Lin are concerned that long-term reliance on Ozempic for weight loss will exacerbate global drug shortages. For diabetics who struggle to access medicines, this is a serious problem. “This he got a call in a month or two saying he couldn’t get his diabetes meds,” says Lin. “We provide samples when we can, but often there just isn’t supply.”
There are alternative drugs that diabetics can take instead, but the shortage of Ozempic has had knock-on effects for other injectable GLP-1 agonist drugs. The FDA has reported shortages of other antidiabetic drugs, such as Tirzepatide and several doses of Trulicity. Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures both Ozempic and Wegovy, has announced that it is working to restock Wegovy and resolve the Ozempic shortage by early 2023.
