Published on
Updated
Reading 4 mins.
From Hollywood to China via Europe, Ozempic quickly established itself as a miracle appetite suppressant for losing weight quickly and effortlessly. Problem: it is a misuse, the drug being indicated only for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. A diversion which is not without risk for health, nor for the patients who really need the drug , and that the health authorities are now monitoring very closely. From its therapeutic indications to its side effects: here is everything you need to know about this fake slimming trick whose success reflects the persistence of certain diktats.
Impossible to miss the phenomenon as the testimonies flow in the media, as on social networks, to praise the merits of Ozempic, the commercial name of semaglutide. And this to the chagrin of the health authorities who multiply the alerts to remind that the drug is not indicated for losing weight, that it can induce side effects, and that this misuse can cause supply tensions for patients. who really need it. Warnings which do not seem to harm the unexpected but certain success of this drug, now perceived as any slimming cure, with rapid and powerful effects.
Live injections on the networks
May 2022, Kim Kardashian arrives on the MET gala red carpet, very thin, in a dress that belonged to Marilyn Monroe. It doesn’t take much to see the craziest rumors emerge about this sudden weight loss, including the use of Ozempic, a drug that all of Hollywood would fight over to get rid of the extra pounds. The market for slimming products is far from failing, however, as are the many aesthetic treatments that are all the rage on social networks today. If the American star has never confirmed having turned to this ‘appetite suppressant’ to lose weight, others have admitted to having used it, like Elon Musk, Dolores Catania, or Amy Schumer. The rest is just a snowball effect… In just a few months, the drug has become the star of social networks, with already more than a billion views on TikTok, without any mention of diabetes.
“It’s completely changed my life, and physically I’m not afraid of anything anymore,” Edmonton native Susanne Brown told Global News. The Canadian, who was prescribed Ozempic to lose weight, says she can indulge in activities she never dared to consider before. And she is far from the only one. On social networks, users film themselves when injecting what they consider to be a precious elixir for weight loss, mentioning in passing the number of kilos they have shed, or post before/after photos. Ozempic. In no time, the drug that would reduce appetite and increase the feeling of satiety was propelled to the rank of miracle appetite suppressant, despite the risks to which this exposes users. And that’s not all, since a recent study published in the journal eBioMedicine suggests that it would also be effective in reducing alcohol consumption and the risk of relapse, confirming a series of testimonials published in The New York Times. However, semaglutide is only intended for patients with type 2 diabetes.
“Available by prescription only”
In France, as in the United States, Ozempic is only supposed to be indicated in the treatment of insufficiently controlled type 2 diabetes, and available only on prescription. INational Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have also alerted the population, in France and across the Atlantic, to the risks inherent in such uses. “The prescription [de l’Ozempic] should be strictly reserved for patients with type 2 diabetes”, jointly recalled the ANSM and Health Insurance, which announced in March that they had put in place “reinforced monitoring” of the use of the drug. And Because, the two organizationswhich report “2,185 beneficiaries of Ozempic [pouvant] be considered as non-diabetics”, i.e. a misuse estimated at 1% in France, alert to the fact that “the diversion of this drug for slimming purposes can cause, or accentuate, supply tensions [ayant] a direct impact on its availability for diabetic patients for whom [il] is essential”.
And that’s not all, since such a diversion is far from without risk to health. “The misuse of Ozempic can lead to potentially serious adverse effects, such as gastrointestinal disorders, pancreatitis or hypoglycaemia”, add the ANSM and the Health Insurance. In the United States, testimonies concerning certain misdeeds of the drug are beginning to flow. The best known is none other than ‘the Ozempic burp’ which affects many people including Elon Musk. An undesirable effect that results in untimely burping. But it is not the only one, it would also be a question of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, heartburn or dizziness, and some even regret not being hungry anymore.
Another point to take into consideration, experts and health professionals warn of the dangers inherent in this dazzling weight loss without a change in lifestyle. In other words, weight loss alone is not beneficial to health. Something that the ANSM and Health Insurance also remind us: “the management of overweight in adults is based above all on diet and physical activity”.
Other medicines concerned
Ozempic is far from being the only drug diverted from its original indication to lose weight. In the same vein, Wegovy, which also contains semaglutide, is also used to lose weight, regardless of its initial weight. A detail that is important since this injectable solution is only indicated in France in the event of obesity. And if it is not a drug but a food supplement, berberine is also already panicking the counters on social networks. What some already consider as a new ‘miracle solution’ would help to lose pounds thanks, again, to an appetite suppressant effect and an action on fat storage, and is already called ‘natural Ozempic’.
Added to this is the fact that Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that markets Ozempic, recently released the results of a clinical test regarding an oral version of semaglutide, the substance found in Ozempic and Wegovy. A simple pill which, if its launch date has not yet been determined, could still be diverted, especially since Novo Nordisk reports here a weight loss of at least 15% in adults suffering from obesity or overweight.