ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — With many celebrities speaking out about Ozempic and other similar weight loss drugs and Nestle announcing the release of food products aimed at people who take these medications, it looks like the trend is set to continue.
“There is no silver bullet for treating obesity. Obesity is a chronic disease and there is no one-time cure,” says Dr. Dhirendra Weerasinghe, director of bariatric surgery at the Rochester Regional Health Department.
He said these injectable weight loss drugs come with a host of side effects, including permanent stomach problems, nausea, vomiting, loss of around 40% muscle mass and possible osteoporosis.
“This is being touted as a cure-all,” Weerasinghe said. “In reality, I don’t think that’s accurate at all.”
He cited studies saying patients tend to gain weight rapidly when they stop taking the drugs, and that patients taking drugs like Ozempic tend to lose less weight after weight-loss surgery.
“For example, if you want to lose 100 pounds, if you use Ozempic, even if you lose 25 pounds, you’ll only lose 75 pounds to make up the 100 pounds,” Weerasinghe said.
He told News 8 that obesity isn’t a choice and the stigma associated with obesity keeps people from seeking other treatments.
“Because of the stigma associated with obesity, there is a lot of stigma attached to people seeking surgery as an option to improve their health,” he says.
Doctors believe that these medications may be an appropriate solution in some cases, but not everyone who wants to take these medications should necessarily do so.
