Despite the buzz, Ozempic isn’t meant to be a weight-loss drug

WITH NEARLY THREE-QUARTERS OF AMERICANS either overweight or clinically obese, it’s little wonder that so many people seek out what they hope is the next weight-loss miracle drug.

Lately that spotlight has lingered over Ozempic, a medication developed to help adults with type 2 diabetes better control their blood sugar. “Ozempic is something that almost everyone has heard of at this point,” said Dr. Jyothi Sri Pappula, a family and bariatric medicine specialist with The University of Toledo Medical Center. “It is an effective medication for patients with diabetes, but it has become incredibly well-known and popular as a weight-loss drug even though it’s not FDA approved for that use.”

Ozempic came into the marketplace in 2017, but its rise to fame as an off-label weight-management drug came more recently as social media influencers and celebrities began praising the medication’s pound-shedding potential. That popularity has led to persistent shortages of Ozempic and Wegovy, a separate semaglutide medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2021 for weight management. Wegovy and Ozempic both work to lower a person’s body weight by replicating a hormone that signals fullness to the brain, reducing a person’s cravings and desire to eat. Ozempic is prescribed to help regulate blood sugar. Wegovy is prescribed as a weight-loss medication.

Pappula, who practices at UTMC’s Comprehensive Care Center, said it’s important to understand that even though the two drugs have the same active ingredient, they aren’t intended to be used interchangeably. “The product in both of them is semaglutide, but the dosing is different,” she said. “Many patients with type 2 diabetes are also overweight, and Ozempic may help those patients lose weight, but there’s no indication for Ozempic to be used exclusively as a weight-loss medicine.”

They aren’t, however, standalone miracle drugs. There’s also the issue of cost. While Ozempic is widely covered by insurers to lower blood sugar, relatively few health insurers cover Wegovy.

“Almost everyone who is able to take Wegovy is seeing impressive results, but the treatment plan of obesity includes a lot of factors put together. It isn’t just a medication,” Pappula said. “One is diet and proper eating habits. The other important factor is behavior modification. Behavior modification is important for success with sustained weight loss, whether medical or surgical. They have to keep up a healthy lifestyle, no matter whether their weight is being managed medically or surgically.”

One reason that bariatric surgery has become so popular, Pappula said, is its ability to produce sustained weight loss. While Wegovy can help patients lose a significant amount of weight, maintaining that weight loss requires continued use of the medication.

Clinical obesity is defined by a person’s BMI reaching 30 or more. Someone 5-feet, 4-inches tall, for example, is considered obese if they weigh at least 174 pounds. Someone 5-feet, 10-inches tall would be considered obese if they weigh at least 209 pounds.

“We advise a healthy lifestyle to everybody, regardless of weight,” Pappula said. “Anyone who is concerned about their weight is free to call and schedule an appointment.”

For more information, or to schedule an appointment with a member of UTMC’s family or bariatric medicine team, call 419-383-5555.

Tyrel Linkhorn is a communications specialist at The University of Toledo. ✲