Although Ozempic is synonymous with weight loss for many people, they may also turn to other brand-name drugs made to treat obesity.
This blockbuster type 2 diabetes drug is not approved for weight management, but a well-known side effect is weight loss.
“Most people understand Ozempic as an umbrella term for the GLP-1 class of drugs,” Dr. Christopher McGowan, a gastroenterologist who runs a weight loss clinic in Cary, North Carolina, told TODAY.com .
GLP-1 drugs – Ozempic and its sister drug Wegoby, as well as Munjaro and zep bound — Mimics at least one hormone produced in the intestines to signal satiety, leading to a decrease in appetite.
According to , about 12% of Americans take one of these popular drugs. KFF Health Tracking Poll.
Journalist Johan Hari, who lost 42 pounds with Ozempic, said that while the drug was a powerful tool, it was also a “mass experiment on millions of people, and I was one of the guinea pigs.” It states that.
“There are concerns that there may be some long-term effects that we don’t know about,” Hari told TODAY.com, echoing concerns that other patients may have.
So, is Ozempic safe?
Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that makes Ozempic and Wigovy, is confident that all of its GLP-1 medicines are safe when used as directed and under the care of a licensed health care professional. said in a statement that it supports the effectiveness of the system. today.com.
Doctors say:
Are Wegovy and Ozempic the same?
Wegovy and Ozempic contain the same active ingredient, semaglutide.
“Technically, they are exactly the same,” Dr. Maria Daniela Hurtado Andrade, an endocrinologist with Mayo Clinic’s Obesity Precision Medicine Program, told TODAY.com. Hurtado Andrade is a consultant for Novo Nordisk.
However, she clarified that “insurance companies will, in effect, not cover Ozempic’s treatment for overweight and obesity.”
Ozempic is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat type 2 diabetes, and Wegovy is specifically approved for weight management in people who are obese or overweight and have comorbidities such as high blood pressure.
Another difference between the two is the dosage, she points out. Wegovy’s dose increases to 2.4 milligrams per week, while Ozempic’s dose is up to 2 milligrams.
It’s not uncommon for doctors to prescribe Ozempic off-label for weight loss, Hurtado-Andrade said. It has become less common as supply issues have made Wegovy difficult to find improvedadded McGowan.
Novo Nordisk says Wegovy and Ozempic are not compatible.
What does semaglutide do to the body?
As TODAY.com previously reported, semaglutide is a synthetic version of a hormone known as GLP-1, which the body releases into the intestines when a person eats food.
Signals are sent to the brain that the patient has eaten, so the patient’s appetite decreases and they feel full immediately after eating. This drug also slows the rate at which the stomach empties, which may contribute to feeling full.
Obese or overweight adults lost an average of 15% of their body weight after taking Wegovy for 1 year and 4 months. According to Novo Nordisk.
Four years after starting semaglutide, patients maintained an average weight loss of 10% of their body weight. 2024 survey Funding from Novo Nordisk has been confirmed.
Doctors say the drug’s effects on the body could make obese people healthier.
“On average, people lose a lot of weight, and other aspects of their health often improve as well,” Dr. Cecilia Lo Wang, a UCHealth endocrinologist and professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, told TODAY.com told.
Lo Wang, chairman of the FDA’s Endocrine and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee, said he was expressing his own views and not speaking on behalf of the committee or the FDA.
Obesity is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, cancer, and mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, Hurtado-Andrade added.
“Keeping in mind that obesity is at the core of many of these diseases, treating obesity can truly have a cascading effect of clinical benefit,” she points out. “These are life-changing drugs.”
of FDA Approves Wegovy Reduces risk of heart attack and stroke.
What are the side effects?
The most common side effects of Ozempic and Wegovy include nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, and vomiting. According to the manufacturer.
Wegovy patients can also: often experience According to Novo Nordisk, symptoms include headache, fatigue, upset stomach, dizziness, bloating, belching, gas, gastroenteritis, heartburn, runny nose and sore throat.
Potential serious side effects of Ozempic and Wegovy include the possibility of thyroid tumors, including cancer. Novo Nordisk says the symptoms include pancreatitis, vision changes, hypoglycemia, kidney failure, gallbladder problems and severe allergic reactions.
Wegovy patients may also experience increased heart rate, depression and suicidal thoughts, the company said.
Another concern is loss of musclesays Lou Wang.
Novo Nordisk says currently available data on body composition do not show that semaglutide treatment is associated with greater reductions in lean body mass than fat mass reductions. So far, there has been no indication that semaglutide is safe in reducing lean body mass, it added.
In 2023, Novo Nordisk was sued by a woman with type 2 diabetes, alleging that Ozempic was among the drugs that caused gastroparesis, or gastroparesis. The lawsuit is still pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, but no new lawsuits have been filed since March 2024.
A company spokesperson said gastroparesis is a known risk for people with diabetes and “patient safety is of paramount importance to Novo Nordisk.”
Gastroparesis is not mentioned in the prescribing information. Ozempic or wegobeehowever, delayed gastric emptying is noted for each drug.
People taking GLP-1 drugs may be at increased risk for serious stomach disorders such as gastroparesis. Research results were published in JAMA Discovered in 2023.
“Although these adverse events are rare, they should be considered by patients considering the use of this drug for weight loss,” the authors wrote.
How long should I stay in Ozempic for weight loss?
Obesity often requires ongoing treatment, and most people “have difficulty maintaining weight loss” once the drug is discontinued, Novo Nordisk said.
Doctors interviewed by TODAY.com believe semaglutide may need to be taken for years, decades, or perhaps a lifetime.
Obesity, like high blood pressure, is a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment, Lo Wang said.
“This will probably be a lifelong drug,” she points out.
“This is a drug that is expected to require long-term use,” Hurtado-Andrade added. “We put people on treatments that treat the biological basis of the disease, but if we stop that drug, that effect goes away and it’s very likely that the weight will come back.”
Starting semaglutide is a commitment to continue semaglutide long-term, McGowan says.
“People considering taking a GLP-1 drug like semaglutide should plan to take it indefinitely,” he points out. “GLP-1 drugs are designed to be used in only one direction, or continuously. That means once you start using them, you can use them for a long period of time, essentially for a lifetime.”
McGowan said her biggest concern is that if patients stop taking the medication, they will gain weight back and “the extreme hunger may return.”
But some doctors say they need more long-term data before putting patients on the drug for life.
“I understand that obesity is a chronic disease like high blood pressure or diabetes, and there are arguments that once treatment is needed it should be treated for life. I don’t think there’s any data to show that. It’s possible, but we’re not there yet,” Dr. Zhaoping Li, professor of medicine and chief of clinical nutrition at the University of California, Los Angeles, told TODAY.com. spoke.
“We must be vigilant to closely monitor all patients. The best use of this class of drugs is to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the drugs to help patients maintain longevity and quality of life.” Our goal is to help people improve their lifestyles.”
Is Ozempic safe to take for life?
Novo Nordisk says Wigovy and Ozempic’s semaglutide has been proven safe and effective in more than 30 clinical trials.
“Our GLP-1 products have a long history of use in the treatment of type 2 diabetes (over 19 years) and obesity (almost 10 years), backed by robust clinical data and over 22 million patient-years. This is supported by these exposures,” the company said in the paper. statement.
Novo Nordisk also said it works closely with the FDA to monitor drug safety.
What about the possibility of serious problems occurring years or even decades down the line?
“We’re always worried about that. … We’re always on the lookout for new side effects,” Low Wang says. “[But]it’s been many years since semaglutide was released, and so far nothing truly new has emerged in terms of safety signals.”
She tells patients that the long-term safety of GLP-1 drugs is not known for sure, but that doctors have long-term experience with this class of drugs.
So far, there is no evidence that long-term use is harmful, Hurtado-Andrade added.
With millions of patients currently using these drugs, it is possible that some rare and previously unidentified side effects may occur, but overall there is no new or “There is little concern that there will be any unusual side effects,” McGowan said. “In fact, this is a very reassuring safety profile.”
Based on currently known information, three doctors say they are comfortable prescribing semaglutide long-term for weight loss in patients eligible for the drug.
“We can do this safely if health care providers monitor closely, pay attention to any problems, and regularly reassess whether the patient still needs to take the medication.” ,” Lo Wang said.
