On social networks, some seem to have found the solution to losing weight: Ozempic. A user testifies and affirms that it was her doctor who prescribed this drug to her since she was unable to lose the weight gained during her pregnancies. She would have lost 10 kg in just one month. A tiktoker followed by more than 34,000 people sells a loss of 40 kg in three months. Jean-François Thébaut, vice-president of the French Federation of Diabetics has been following this trend since last summer, and is worried about it.
What is Ozempic that some influencers are promoting on social media?
You have a little over 200,000 diabetics who take this medication in France. And of this category of drug, which we call AGLP1, there are about 600,000 in the country. It is intended for people with type 2 diabetes. This medication, which takes the form of an injection, has effects on regulating blood sugar, therefore regulating diabetes. It also has a cardiovascular risk prevention effect in diabetics.
But why do some claim that it helps to lose weight?
This is actually one of the side effects of this drug. The mechanism of this weight loss is complex because it acts on blood sugar. But there is a main factor which is that it suppresses the appetite, because it slows down gastric emptying. We are therefore less hungry and we have greater satiety.
Among the unpleasant side effects, which are effective for losing weight, there are nausea, and digestive discomfort that makes you do not want to eat. Indirectly it cuts hunger, even if it is not an appetite suppressant because this drug does not act at the cerebral level. It doesn’t work by actually reducing hunger.
Ozempic, and the other drugs in its category, therefore effectively fulfill the objectives desired by Internet users?
All these are only side effects of the treatment, which are very unpleasant. For a diabetic person it is recommended to lose between 5 and 10% of their weight, generally. It helps to balance diabetes. This weight loss, we ask that it be slow and progressive, so over several months. We are dealing with a chronic disease, we are in no hurry. And the patient, once he is treated, will take his medicine all the time.
For a shot to lose weight, it’s completely different. Once we have reached the desired objective, we stop the treatment. The person will therefore grow again. The faster the weight loss, the faster you gain weight, it does not have a long-term effect. The only way to lose weight permanently is to change your eating habits.
The same treatment was developed to fight against obesity by the pharmaceutical company Novo…
Indeed, it turns out that the studies of the laboratory that manufactures Ozempic have shown that it is very effective for weight loss. They carried out specific studies with a different indication, not against diabetes but against obesity. For its use for a diabetic person, the dosage is one injection of 1 mg per week. For this study, they used higher doses: 2.4 mg.
These are drugs that are very effective, but have very complex effects on the body. For the low dosage prescribed for diabetes, the risk of serious side effects is less. There is constipation which can be severe, thyroid and gallbladder disorders, and cases of pancreatic cancer have even been reported. Do we not risk, with a higher dose and a much larger population, more of these effects? The bottom line is that the balance of benefits against risks remains positive.
Today is it possible to have legal access to this treatment to lose weight?
The obesity drug was developed and is sold under the name Wegovy. It is authorized in many countries. In France, the High Authority for Health has given its agreement for it to be reimbursed. However, it is not yet marketed because there has been no agreement between the State and the manufacturer on the price.
People who are very obese, with a BMI over 40 or 45, today can take advantage of this drug as part of an early procedure. What worries is the generalization of this prescription to people who are only moderately overweight. It’s not worth taking the risk for it.
People with diabetes and obesity will therefore have to share the quantities produced?
At the global level, and in France, this use creates a tension on the supply of the drug. Manufacturers are currently unable to produce enough to meet demand. In Australia, there happened a complete rupture. And this situation is dramatic for people with diabetes.
This drug is only sold on prescription, so we hope that prescribers will be very vigilant and not let themselves be influenced by patients who do not really need it. And when the Wegovy is marketed, we hope that the manufacturer will be able to meet all the demand.