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?
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.
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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Doctors once prescribed overweight people extracts of animal glands – either eaten raw or dried in pill form or injected – to treat their supposedly ‘sluggish glands’.
Ozempic is intended for use by people with diabetes.
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Many processed foods strip carbs of their natural fibers. Eating foods with an ideal total carbohydrate-to-fiber ratio can help with weight management and improve overall health.