Ozempic fingers, Ozempic breasts, Ozempic face, Ozempic ass… and now an Ozempic tongue?
Semaglutide, a once-weekly injectable drug commonly used for diabetes and weight loss, alters taste sensitivity, taste perception and the brain’s response to sweet tastes in obese women. The new study, published Saturday,.
“Obese people often have a weaker sense of taste and an inherently higher desire for sweet, energy-dense foods,” explains Moika Jenstare Sebba from the University Medical Centre Ljubljana in Slovenia.
For their study, Gensterle-Sebbah and her colleagues gave 30 obese women either 1 milligram of semaglutide or a placebo and followed them for 16 weeks.
Semaglutide, sold under brand names such as Ozempic and Wegobee, suppresses appetite and reduces cravings for high-energy, salty and spicy foods, researchers said.
Taste sensitivity was measured using test strips containing different concentrations of the four basic tastes.
The researchers used MRI to assess brain responses when participants were given a sweet solution to place on their tongues before and after eating, and also performed tongue biopsies to analyze genes related to taste.
People who took semaglutide showed improved taste sensitivity and changes in their sweet taste perception and brain activity.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: More than 0.4% of Ozempic users reported experiencing taste disorders (foods tasting metallic, sweet, sour, or bitter).
Some people complain on TikTok Changes in taste After taking the drug, “I literally lose my sense of taste every week.” One woman complained..
Meanwhile, Gensterle-Sebbah noted that her study, presented at ENDO 2024, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Boston, had several limitations.
“This proof-of-concept study only assessed certain tastes in a research setting and may not reflect everyday experience,” Gensterle-Sebber said. “Taste perception can vary widely from person to person, limiting the generalizability of our results.”
Still, she hopes that the findings may help pave the way for understanding and adjusting the taste preferences of obese people.
