Ozempic: Is TikTok's newest obsession really a weight-loss wonder drug?

You may have come across Ozempic on TikTok, where users are claiming its a weight-loss wonder drug, but Irish medics have warned it can do more harm than good when used solely for weight-loss 

What exactly does Ozempic do, and why are Irish GPs prescribing a Hollywood-endorsed weight-loss drug?

A headline in the New York Post last week caused outrage after it proclaimed 'Heroin Chic is Back'. 

The headline might have been inflammatory, but its main thrust was true. It's no surprise therefore that a new drug that has a side effect of weight loss is going viral online.

The drug is called Ozempic, and it was created for people with Type-2 diabetes. But, according to a Californian doctor interviewed in The Guardian earlier this week, everyone in Hollywood is on it.

Videos about weight loss caused by the drug, which reduces sugar levels and appetite, have received millions of views on the social media giant TikTok, with some users claiming to have lost more than six stone on the drug. Billionaire Elon Musk has even paid lip service to the drug, while outlets have also reported it played a role in Kim Kardashian's recent weight loss. 

A number of Irish users on the site have also claimed to have been prescribed the drug for weight loss by Irish GPs, despite the drug not being licenced for use as a weight loss medication in this country. 

In fact, the HSE even had to issue a letter to GPs recently to "remind them that currently reimbursement is for the licensed diabetes indication only" as supply has failed to meet the demand for the drug across Europe and the US.

So what exactly does Ozempic do, and why are Irish GPs prescribing a Hollywood-endorsed weight-loss drug?

What is Ozempic?

Ozempic is the brand name for a medication called semaglutide, which was approved by the HSE in 2018 for treating type 2 diabetes. Semaglutide helps lower a patient's blood sugar levels - though the patient leaflet advises this is only the case when your blood sugar levels are too high to begin with.

The treatment, which is self-administered, comes in a pen that contains four doses and costs around €150. Patients use the medicine once a week.

Does it work?

Videos about weight loss caused by the drug Ozempic have received millions of views on the social media giant TikTok

According to data from the Mayo Clinic, studies found that patients combining weekly semaglutide injections with healthy lifestyle changes resulted in weight loss of about 33.7lbs (15kg) in a 68-week period. 

Another study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine last week, found that adolescents with obesity who took the drug and made healthy lifestyle changes experienced a 16% reduction in body mass index (BMI) within 68 weeks.

Can I get it in Ireland?

Dr Denis McCauley, Chair of the GP Committee of the Irish Medical Organisation, says the drug is currently "not licensed as a weight loss medication" in Ireland, and "should not be prescribed as such to the non-diabetic population".

However, he added, "it is likely that the same drug will shortly be introduced to the Irish market under a different name to treat obesity". 

For now, the HSE has advised that the drug should only be used "as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycaemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus."  

Could it work for me?

Some outlets have reported Ozempic played a role in Kim Kardashian's recent weight loss. Picture: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

According to Professor Carel le Roux, an Obesity Specialist at St Vincent's University Hospital, the use of Ozempic or other drugs using semaglutide for the treatment of obesity could be "revolutionary," but you definitely should not take this drug for weight loss reasons.

"It's very, very important that we focus this treatment for the disease of obesity and not for weight loss," he said. 

"There is the disease of obesity, and then there's what we refer to as the cultural desire for thinness. 

"If you treat people [with Ozempic] with the disease of obesity, you can control the disease, but it means they have to take this treatment for the rest of their lives. 

"For people with the cultural desire for thinness, if they take this treatment, what will happen is they will lose some weight initially but if they stop the treatment, they will regain all the weight and they'll actually be heavier after than they were before. So it's really, really bad idea to [use this drug] for weight loss." 

To define obesity, Prof le Roux points to the World Health Organisation's definition: "Abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health."

"Your BMI doesn't really matter, what matters is whether or not the excess adipose tissues or too much fat cells are causing you to be less healthy right now. For example, if you've got excess fat that causes you to have diabetes, then you have the disease of obesity." 

"We don't treat people for weight loss, we treat people for health gain."

A word of caution

As a final piece of advice, Prof le Roux says he would urge the Irish public not to take Ozempic unless they have the disease of obesity, and unless they are prepared to take it for the rest of their lives.

"Interestingly, even people that really, really really want to lose weight. If you say to them, 'do you have the disease of obesity and are you prepared to take this for the rest of your life? Nine out of 10 people will say no.'"