The diabetes drug Ozempic has taken the world by storm. At first, the drug was developed for people with diabetes, but quite quickly an unexpected effect appeared. Because of the active substance semaglutide’s appetite-reducing properties, the patients lost weight.
Since then, Ozempic has also been used for people with obesity, which has resulted in explosive demand. But at the same time, the global shortage of the medicine has increased sharply, and those who really need the medicine are now at risk of running out. The enormous interest has also created an unregulated market where the drug is sometimes prescribed to people who are not overweight. In some circles it is even called “eating disorder in a syringe”.
Are we close to the solution to a major public health problem or rather on the way to creating new health risks and addictions? What are the consequences if Ozempic is prescribed to everyone and what will the future look like?
Guest: Ylva Trolle Lagerros, senior physician at the Center for Obesity in Stockholm and docent at the Karolinska Institutet.
Producer and presenter: Olivia Bengtsson.
Clip in the episode: E! News, VOX, Inside Edition, P4 Sörmland.
Contact: [email protected]
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2024
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