This year has seen the ever-increasing advent of GLP-1 agonists used for weight loss: medications that are more recognizable under the umbrella title “Ozempic.” There are several different forms of the medication with different names. For those who are not familiar, these medications are a synthetic form of the hormone Glucagon-like peptide-1—before you fall asleep on me here, I’ll jump to the main point of their intended use: these medications increase insulin production, block glucagon (which lowers blood sugar), slow down digestion, and make you feel more full.
Photo from finance.yahoo.com
Long story short, these medications were approved by the FDA in 2005 to treat diabetes in very particular situations. But what you likely know is that GLP-1s have become the weight loss craze of our society. A form of GLP-1 was approved by the FDA for weight loss use in 2014, with a few other brands joining in the following years (like Ozempic in 2022). The side effects discovered for pre-diabetic and diabetic patients were too good to miss: was this the magic no-effort diet medication people dream of?
Suddenly, Ozempic has risen into the vernacular of huge populations, and GLP-1s have become the craze of social media and celebrities. I have major concerns about this.
To be clear, I am not questioning the use of GLP-1s in the context of traditional administration of medication, with detailed and careful prescriptions from practitioners who know their patients well. My concerns lie in the contexts where people are using Ozempic or other GLP-1s with minimal oversight or even indication.
Recently, I’ve noticed how GLP-1 advertising has grown and infiltrated all areas of marketing. Instagram, airports and more all contain ads boasting of fast and easy access to the drugs. Did you know that you can have these medications shipped to your door after basic online interactions? After a short and simple telehealth consultation, voila! The GLP-1 is yours.
There are several ~critiques~ I have for this new diet culture reality. First, I worry about this marketing in a culture with a high prevalence of eating disorders. Seeing celebrities who are not overweight use GLP-1s, or getting ads on your FYP that tell you how easy it is to lose weight with one, and the multitude of other messages communicated (especially to young people) might make more and more people feel this is the standard for dealing with weight issues, body dysmorphia or image in general. Because so little evaluation is needed, these medications can be accessed by people who do not need it.
This feeds into my second concern: using a GLP-1 when it is not truly indicated is just a bit like burning a house down to kill a flea. This is an extreme metaphor, but for patients who have not tried alternative weight loss methods first or are not consulting with professionals about their concerns, using a GLP-1 is foolish and overkill. The side effects can be extreme, and doctors and news outlets alike are starting to warn of serious long term problems, like damage to organs and disease.
GLP-1s are very new, meaning research is still developing on their dangers, and their use for weight loss is even newer. This doesn’t mean people should be afraid to use them entirely, but more caution is needed. Weighing the known and unknown risks against the goals patients have is necessary. I don’t believe this thought process can happen without working closely with experienced providers, something that online GLP-1 companies are not doing.
In conclusion, drugs like Ozempic pose a promising opportunity to serve patients struggling with diabetes and weight problems but have been presented to populations in a way that sparks concern. I think medical professionals and pharmaceutical companies need to seek patient wellbeing over profit and slow down the process of obtaining such medications.
Thumbnail photo from finance.yahoo.com