Weight-loss drugs are a hit in the U.S., despite the cost and side effects.
New York, July 4 (EFE). – An injectable drug called Ozempic, the trade name of a product originally intended to treat type 2 diabetes, has gained enormous popularity for its weight-loss effects among the Hollywood elite, as well as the rest of us mortals, despite its high price and possible side effects that have not yet been adequately studied.
One of the effects of this drug, which belongs to a group known as GLP-1 agonists, is that it conveys the feeling of fullness after eating.
The most well-known drug is Ozempic, which must be injected once a week, but there are other similar drugs such as Munjaro or Vegovi, the latter of which is approved specifically for the fight against excess weight.
Defenders among the famous
Some of the famous people who have claimed to use this type of drug include the world’s richest man Elon Musk, actress Rebel Wilson, who lost more than 75 pounds, and host Oprah Winfrey. They all said they achieved their ideal weight by combining the drug with a healthy diet and exercise.
“I never dreamed in my entire life that we would be talking about medications that give hope to people like me who have struggled with being overweight and obese for years,” the host said in March on ABC’s “Oprah: Shame, Guilt, and the Weight Loss Revolution.”
Other celebrities who have lost a lot of weight have denied using the drug to slim down their figures. Like Khloe Kardashian, who said on Instagram earlier this year: “Let’s not discredit my years of working out. I wake up 5 days a week at 6 to work out. Please stop making assumptions.”
From $900 to $1400 per month
The effects of these drugs can be seen not only on magazine covers. There are more than 92,000 videos with the tag on TikTok #Ozempik.
Without insurance to cover the costs (which is difficult to obtain unless the user has diabetes or obesity, as some insurers consider these drugs to be aesthetic drugs), these drugs cost between $900 and $1,400 per month.
Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard University’s T.C. Chan School of Public Health, warned the New York Times that the drugs could increase the country’s health care costs by 50%.
Does Ozempic increase fertility?
Side effects include diarrhea and nausea, although some experts warn that because it is a new drug, some patients may experience other effects over time.
Some women have posted on social media that they became pregnant while taking these types of drugs, even while taking birth control pills or after being diagnosed with infertility.
Several scientists told Nature that these reports are plausible and that they have different hypotheses about why the drugs increase fertility, but until more data is available, the exact mechanism remains unknown.
Eli Lilly, one of the companies that makes this type of drug, advises people taking oral contraceptives to use backup birth control for four weeks after starting the medication or if the dose is increased.