Semaglutide injections, the drugs used in Ozempic and Wegovi, have become all the rage around the world.
The “breakthrough” treatment, which involves weekly injections, has helped thousands of people to lose weight and improve their health.
However, several celebrities have reportedly been secretly using the drug to stay in shape, leading to it being dubbed Hollywood’s “best-hidden diet secret.”
There also appears to be an increasing number of ordinary Brits obtaining the drug from online pharmacies under false pretenses, and secretly taking it as a “quick fix” to get “beach body”.
Here experts reveal how to tell if someone is taking semaglutide with side effects, and some things they can do to counteract the effects.
The curves may be lost…
Fat burning drugs don’t discriminate about which fat they target.
That’s because the drug mimics GLP-1, a hormone produced naturally in the body that slows the passage of food through the stomach and reduces hunger.
This changes the way your brain regulates appetite, so you feel full even when eating less and you no longer crave sweet foods.
As a result, people eat less and lose weight, but it’s not just belly fat.
People taking this medication may notice their arms and legs becoming thinner and their overall body shape becoming less curvaceous.
Unwanted side effects reported by women include smaller breasts and a flatter buttocks.
“It can lead to changes in appearance which some people may not welcome,” warns Prof Alex Milla, an endocrinologist at the University of Ulster.
He told MailOnline that this was not a side effect specific to semaglutide and that similar effects were seen with weight loss through other types of calorie restriction, such as gastric bypass surgery.
“The changes in appearance that people call Ozempic face or Ozempic butt are not just due to the Ozempic effect but can occur with any form of weight loss,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what the cause is, but when you lose weight, your face looks different, mostly because you lose fat. The same thing happens to your butt and it happens all over your body.”
Users of slimming injections themselves warn about an unwanted consequence: “Ozempic butt.”
The back is one of the main areas where subcutaneous fat (fat just under the skin) accumulates and, as a result, is one of the first areas to be lost during weight loss.
It also includes three large muscle groups called the glutes, which can also atrophy if you don’t exercise and take medications without eating a high-protein diet.
In a video posted to TikTok under the hashtag #ozempicbutt, social media user @jocelyngarcia3514 shared a full-body video showing loose skin around her buttocks.
“What does your butt feel like on Ozempic/Semaglutide?” she wrote.
“You get it? Loose skin and cellulite (not something to brag about, but results may vary).”
Similarly, users of the drug have reported a decrease in breast size as well as a slimmer waist.
Television personality Sharon Osbourne, 71, previously admitted that she had “lost too much weight” during the Ozempic.
She told the Daily Mail in January that she had lost “almost half” her body weight.
“As a result, flesh was hanging everywhere. My breasts were flat and saggy,” she said.
The music manager, who has three children with rock star husband Ozzy, 74, has had to undergo a series of cosmetic surgeries to correct unwanted side effects of losing weight.
But, as Professor Mira explains, there’s no denying that losing excess fat in certain areas can improve your overall health.
“You’ll also lose abdominal fat, which is very important not just from a cosmetic standpoint but also from a metabolic standpoint,” he said.
“It is effective in preventing the onset of diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.”
But taking semaglutide doesn’t just reduce fat.
That’s because weight loss injections induce weight loss by affecting appetite, rather than specifically targeting fat.
As a result, patients may not consume as much protein, the building block of muscle, as they did before taking the drug, and they may lose muscle mass.
Losing muscle can result in a less toned look and change the shape of your arms, legs, and even your buttocks, the largest muscle group in the body.
They may have the haggard look of Ozempic’s face…
Semaglutide can also remove fat from the face, leaving many people with a gaunt appearance known colloquially as “Ozempic face”.
This obvious sign can cause sunken eyes, thin cheeks, and loose skin.
Facial fat keeps your cheeks smooth and plump and your forehead smooth, so losing it too quickly can make you look older.
Nutritionist Rose Ferguson said: Times Many of her celebrity clients have “panicked” after developing the so-called “Ozempic face” due to weight-loss drugs.
The 49-year-old former model, who is close friends with Kate Moss, says she has seen a surge in people worrying that drugs such as Ozempic and Wegobee have altered their faces.
Celebrities who have developed “Ozempic face” as a result of taking these drugs or other weight-loss methods include Robbie Williams, Scott Disick and Sharon Osbourne.
“The Ozempic face is essentially the same feature you see when a patient loses weight rapidly or regularly,” Dr. Smita Ramanadam, a plastic surgeon in New Jersey, recently told DailyMail.com.
“When you lose volume in your face and facial fat, signs you may notice include more hollowed out cheeks, loose skin and an overall hollowed out look.”
“Because cheek fat gives a youthful appearance, it can actually have the effect of making you look older.”
Dr Ramanadham gives the example of singer Robbie Williams, saying: “You can see the hollowing under the eyes and cheeks and increased wrinkles due to the loss of volume. In Robbie’s case, you can see the direct result of the weight loss.”
So, can you compete with Ozempic’s ass/face/arms?
Muscle loss is often seen as an unwanted side effect of taking the drug semaglutide, but experts say It is unclear whether this is harmful to long-term health or actually beneficial.
“One way of thinking is that any type of muscle loss is a bad thing,” says Prof Milla.
He adds: “Muscle is a metabolically active organ and burns energy, so less muscle means less energy expenditure, which is bad for weight loss and bad for absorbing sugar from the blood.”
“So it’s bad in terms of developing diabetes, and it’s bad from a metabolic standpoint.”
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Another theory is that when you lose fat or weight, less muscle is needed to support you, which is why you lose muscle, explains Prof Mira.
Other experts say that obese people lose muscle because their muscles contain fat.
Therefore, as fat is removed during the weight loss process, muscle mass is also lost.
But experts say the lack of fat means the muscle is healthier overall, explains Prof Mira.
While there isn’t enough data yet to confirm which theory is correct, muscle loss is not only a concern from a cosmetic standpoint, but losing muscle can also make you feel weaker, increasing your risk of falls and fractures.
“The only way to protect your muscle mass is to increase your protein intake,” warns Professor Mira.
Protein is found naturally in foods such as meat, fish, eggs and beans and is used by the body to build and maintain muscle.
Earlier this year, healthcare products company Abbott launched a protein shake in the US containing 30 grams of protein – about half the daily amount recommended by the NHS – aimed at people taking weight-loss drugs.
Studies have shown that a high-protein diet helps build muscle mass, and Abbott says patients should eat 50 percent more during weight loss to stay healthy.
Food giant Nestle has also entered the semaglutide market, launching a range of collagen and protein powders to counteract the side effects of weight-loss drugs in the wake of sluggish snack food sales.
These new weight-loss-friendly products include hair growth supplements, strawberry lemonade-flavored electrolyte tablets, and collagen peptides to improve skin elasticity.
But in the near future, protein shakes may not be the only answer to preventing problems like “Ozempic butt.”
Prof Mira said pharmaceutical companies were now developing drugs specifically to slow muscle loss in patients.
“It’s likely that in the future, drugs will be developed that counteract the effects of weight loss on muscle mass,” he said.
