More and more people are taking Ozempic for weight loss, and its side effects are starting to become apparent. So much so that the expression “you look like Ozempic” became popular. Public health and preventive medicine specialist Joan Carles March insists on clarifying that this drug is indicated for patients with diabetes and not for aesthetic use, as has been the case lately.
March explains that “people with extra pounds want to lose them quickly and effectively, and this has consequences for the body, such as sagging skin.” However, he warns that “the popularity of drugs such as Ozempic, fueled in part by social media, has led to their use without proper medical supervision; “It carries rare but serious side effects.” For now, he emphasizes that “we are seeing more and more patients hospitalized due to the use of these drugs. “Typically, these are people in their 40s and 50s who are losing significant weight and are concerned about facial aging and the resulting sagging.”
‘Ozempian face’
The aforementioned specialist explains that the term “Ozempic face” (#ozempicface) “refers to the transformation that the face undergoes as a result of sudden weight loss, that is, the loss of volume that occurs in the face and the increase in laxity. These effects occur due to fat loss and weakening of the skin; “They’re similar to what happens as we get older.”
March elaborates that “volumes change over time and structures change. If we evaluate the causes of sagging at the level of the different layers that make up the face, we will see changes at different anatomical levels. It changes at the bone level, since there is resorption of bone tissue (mainly at the level of the edge of the orbit and jaw), which increases in women during menopause and processes that cause osteopenia. Also at the fat level, since atrophy of the fat packets that make up the lining of the face occurs.
At this point, he adds that “the ligaments that support the face become weak due to accelerated loss of collagen, and in many cases their insertions into the skin become visible, giving the appearance of little integrity in the cheek area. And it is the skin, if it is thin, that becomes more flabby; “If it’s thick, it’s heavy and highlights all this shifting structures.”