Losing weight has never been easier in the US, it seems: Americans are under the spell of diet injections. Pharmaceutical companies expect mountains of gold. But in the meantime, the Dutch pharmaceutical watchdog warns against using the diabetes drug Ozempic. “I want to emphasize that Ozempic has not been approved for this purpose and it is very unwise to use this medicine without the supervision of a doctor,” says chairman Ton de Boer.
Pepper Schwartz from the Seattle area had tried everything to lose weight, and never managed to maintain a healthy weight. But since she started taking Ozempic appetite-reducing injections last year, she’s lost nearly 14 pounds and has no trouble keeping it off. “I no longer have an endless appetite,” says the retired professor of sociology (78). “Most diets require a lot of willpower. It is difficult to maintain new eating habits. The injection actually does that for you.”
Ozempic has been available as a diabetes medication for some time, including in the Netherlands, but it became a rage in the US in the past year. Since 2021, it can also be prescribed as a weight loss product under the brand name Wegovy. It contains semaglutide, which is similar to a hormone the body produces. It lowers blood sugar, suppresses appetite and slows down food processing. This is how the kilos fly off, usually about 15 percent of the weight.
Most diets require a lot of willpower. It is difficult to maintain new eating habits. The injection actually does that for you
It started in Hollywood. “Everyone looks great,” comedian Jimmy Kimmel told the celebrities in the room as he hosted the Oscars in the spring. “When I look around here, I wonder: is Ozempic also something for me?” When the reality stars of the Kardashian family appeared strikingly slim on red carpets, it was also rumored to be thanks to Ozempic. They deny, by the way. Comedian Amy Schumer and billionaire Elon Musk, among others, were open about using the drug.
posters
In the spring, American doctors were already writing more than 100,000 new prescriptions for Wegovy every week, and now competing drugs are on the market that are said to work even better. Subway stations in New York have stylish posters touting ‘a weekly shot to lose weight’. The New York Times calculated that more than 2 percent of the residents of New York’s affluent Upper East Side now take such injections. Struggling to keep up with US demand, the Danish maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, Novo Nordisk, temporarily limited the number of doses for new US patients so that existing users wouldn’t run out.
In the US, where medicines are significantly more expensive than in Europe, Wegovy costs more than 1300 dollars per month, 1215 euros. Not all insurers reimburse this. American media write about people who pay for it with a second job or a credit card. Users support each other on Facebook and TikTok, among others.
Among other things, they describe that they are no longer constantly occupied with eating – and especially not eating. But some also share online that they suffer from fatigue, constipation, nausea and severe abdominal pain. A few complain that she loses no weight at all, or that she looks older because of sagging skin. It is now called an ‘Ozempic face’ in the US.
Recipe
Pepper Schwartz, who has been injecting the drug for a year now and advises a company that offers it for paying members, got a prescription from her doctor. ,,I weighed way too much for my height, I am only 1.48. I just wasn’t happy with it, it’s not healthy. You are doing yourself a disservice, especially as you get older.” She says she has had no side effects and now feels powerful when she goes mountain hiking or horseback riding. “I’m less obsessed with my weight and food.”
Many practitioners in the US are happy with the new medication. It’s a “great addition to our toolbox,” says Katherine Balentekin, who studies the eating habits of obese people at the University of Buffalo. For her, the injections are ‘one spoke in a complete wheel of treatments’, she emphasizes. Changes in the body make it very difficult for people with severe obesity to permanently lose kilos, Balentekin describes. “The injections are useful for addressing the biological causes of obesity.” According to a recent trial with Wegovy, such an injection also reduces the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
The US is a potential gold mine for drug makers, as one of the most overweight countries in the world, over 100 million people, or 42 percent of American adults. If they start diet injections, they may need to continue taking them for a long time. Research shows that patients who stop smoking regain two-thirds of the weight they lost within a year. Novo Nordisk recommends using the injection in combination with a healthy diet and exercise.
Revenue
Analysts from investment bank Morgan Stanley predict that the turnover of makers of weight-loss drugs in the US can grow from $ 1.6 billion a year to more than $ 31 billion in 2030. According to the bank, obesity medication seems to be a ‘blockbuster’ for pharmaceutical companies. Weight Watchers, the diet club that focused on strict calorie counting for decades, already changed course and bought a health care company that offers such injections to sell to Weight Watchers members.
Obesity specialist David Ludwig of Harvard University pointed out that attention to the risks of unhealthy diets is still very much needed. “The big pharma companies can come up with a billion dollars to get a promising drug through trials without any problems because the profits are huge,” he said in the statement. Harvard Gazette. Researchers who want to study more effective diet and lifestyle interventions must do so on a shoestring budget, Ludwig said, “because few companies will benefit if Americans eat better and become more active.”
Experience expert Pepper Schwartz would like slimming products to be affordable for everyone who benefits from them. Moral judgments about willpower and healthy habits won’t get anyone anywhere, she says. “For whatever reason, many people are unable to control their weight without such a drug, and that can kill them.”
What about the Netherlands?
The use of Ozempic is also increasing rapidly in the Netherlands. Last year, about 68,000 people used the drug, according to figures from Stichting Pharmaceutical Kengetallen. But how many Dutch people try to lose weight with the drug is unknown.
According to Marloes Dankers, pharmacist at the Institute for Responsible Medicine Use (IVM), many doctors receive questions about Ozempic. “Hypes do not respect national borders.” Patients can only receive ozempic with a prescription. Because the drug is actually for diabetic patients, doctors do not just do it. All the more so because the drug can cause serious side effects and it is not clear what it does to health in the long term.
The image of Ozempic as an easy slimming aid that comes to the Netherlands from the United States is incorrect, says Dankers. ,, Such a drug is not a quick fix to lose a lot of weight. That is meant to support, nothing more than that.”
Warning
Medicine watchdog CBG warned earlier this year against the use of ozempic to lose weight. “I want to emphasize that ozempic has not been approved for this purpose and it is very unwise to use this medicine without the supervision of a doctor,” said chairman Ton de Boer. The side effects center Lareb received hundreds of reports, many of which related to serious side effects such as cardiac arrhythmias and inflammation of the gallbladder.
The European medicines authority EMA is now investigating the risk of suicidal thoughts. In Iceland, reports came in of patients self-harming or suicidal thoughts. So far there are about 150 files of users of Ozempic and similar drugs that are being analyzed. The results are expected in November.
Despite this, the demand for Ozempic remains so high that there has been a regular shortage in recent months. Figures from Stichting Pharmaceutical Kengetallen (SFK) show that in 2022 68,000 patients used Ozempic, a year earlier there were still about 44,000. Those numbers seem to be increasing: from August 2022 to July 2023, SFK had 87,000 users. Although pharmacists still report shortages, the pharmacists’ organization KNMP sees that the medicine is occasionally available.
Limited Availability
According to pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, there is limited availability in the Netherlands. The company indicates that the problems are likely to continue throughout this year due to “a sharp increase in demand worldwide.” “We understand that this can be drastic and we deeply regret this situation,” the pharmaceutical company writes on its website.
The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) received reports last year about illegal sales of Ozempic via web shops. Ten webshops were subsequently closed last year. Even now, the IGJ says it is investigating several websites.
Incidentally, Novo Nordisk has developed another drug that is intended for weight loss: Wegovy. The National Health Care Institute is now assessing whether that drug will be approved for obese patients.
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