Johann Hari’s book opens a deeper conversation about the pros and cons of injectable weight-loss drugs – including whether we really want to trade the pleasure we get from food for losing weight.
Neither Ozempic nor Wegovy are listed on the PBS to treat obesity. When Wegovy becomes available, users will need to pay the full price. Or should the government subsidise it?
Does weight come back when you stop taking drugs like Ozempic? Are these medications simply another (expensive) form of yo-yo dieting? Here’s what we know so far.
We don’t tell people taking statins to treat high cholesterol or drugs to manage high blood pressure they’re cheating or taking the easy way out. Nor should we when people take drugs like Ozempic.
In Australia, Ozempic is only approved to treat diabetes but doctors are prescribing it ‘off label’ for weight loss. Compounding pharmacies have also been making their own versions to meet demand.
Early on we heard a lot about the potential benefits of drugs like Ozempic. Now we’re hearing more about the risks. But what does the latest evidence say?
‘Budget Ozempic’ usually refers to laxatives or stool softeners.
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Laxatives and stool softeners are not designed to be used for weight loss.
Although semaglutide drugs like Ozempic are indicated to treat Type 2 diabetes, they are increasingly prescribed off-label because of their observed effectiveness at inducing weight loss.
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The demand for off-label weight loss drugs like Ozempic is concerning, because of the impact on weight stigma and the health risks of unsupervised weight loss, including developing eating disorders.
A team of scientists uncovers a logic the brainstem uses to control how fast and how much we eat.
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The first-ever imaging and recording of a brainstem structure critical for feeling full could help reveal exactly how weight loss drugs like Ozempic work, and how to make them more effective.
Weight loss pills aren’t a replacement for a healthy diet and lifestyle.
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Weight loss and diabetes drugs target regulatory pathways involved in metabolism that the microbes in your gut and certain molecules from food already play a key role in regulating.
Overall health and well-being are about much more than just weight management.
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