Demand has skyrocketed for the diabetes and obesity treatment Ozempic, as many social media influencers and celebrities are suspected of using the drug as a quick fix for weight loss.
As a result, patients taking the injection for its intended purpose are having trouble filling their prescriptions. And, the focus on celebrity weight loss is impacting body image and the body positivity movement, guests on Greater Boston said.
Kelsey Weekman, a reporter at BuzzFeed covering the Ozempic trend, said Ozempic is all over social media, and celebrities with big weight loss transformations are often known for that instead of their other accomplishments.
"I think we're going backwards in terms of body acceptance and body positivity," she said.
Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, a physician of obesity medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, said it has been difficult for her to find the drug to give to her patients that have obesity and other chronic illnesses.
"This is not a vanity drug. It's being utilized as such," Stanford said, noting that it is a long-term use drug.
Stanford said the drug works by suppressing hunger and increasing satiety, leading to greater fullness from meals and less snacking in between.
People who stop taking the drug are very likely to regain the weight they lost. "These are medications that are used to act on the brain to change the likelihood of death and reduce the likelihood of stroke, heart attack and admissions for heart failure, but that's not what it sounds like these are being used for in the context of celebrities," Stanford said.
Watch: Influencers and celebrities are using diabetes drug Ozempic to lose weight. What are the risks?
