By: Emily Oberg
If you live in Los Angeles, you’ve probably heard of the latest weight loss trend responsible for shrinking your favorite celebrity into a size 00. If you live in a “normal” city where looks aren’t the end all be all (I’m truly jealous), then maybe this is news to you. If cocaine was the drug of choice for supermodels in the 90s, today it’s Ozempic. But it’s not just supermodels who are taking this new drug, it’s quickly becoming the go to for both celebrities and average joes alike. I first heard about Ozempic when friends of mine were discussing a certain celebrity’s drastic weight loss— “What has she been doing?” “Who is her trainer?” “She must be on some insanely strict diet.” Alas, it wasn’t any of the above, it was Ozempic. When you live in a city where any shred of culture has been replaced by how to look better, younger, thinner, hotter etc.— word spreads faster than Californian wildfires about anything that can get you results with little to no effort.
I noticed that more and more of my friend groups were talking about Ozempic, and how friends of theirs were now on it— touting its dramatic and noticeable results. I was fascinated, not by the drug itself, but by the fact that regular, perfectly fit and healthy people were taking a prescription drug to lose weight. Even thin people I knew were taking it. What the fuck was happening to the world? Are we so brainwashed by vanity that we’re now injecting ourselves with drugs in order to lose a few pounds, without hesitation? Two things immediately came to mind. One— I’ve gotta get the F out of LA and two, there’s no way this drug can be safe. I had to dig deeper.
Ozempic is first and foremost a diabetes medication. Its website states that the weekly injection is used to “ Improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes.” And, “to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death in adults with type 2 diabetes with known heart disease.” When it comes to aiding in weight loss, the drug works by mimicking the hormone that makes us feel full, also known as GLP-1 hormone. When you take Ozempic, your body is falsely telling you that you’re full, even if you’ve eaten nothing. It's kind of like a self-induced eating disorder.
Don’t get me wrong, there are PLENTY of people out there who greatly benefit from the drug, who have conditions that make losing weight next to impossible and who’s lives can be saved by Ozempic. But taking it purely for vanity reasons when you’re not overweight or a diabetic? To me it’s simply irresponsible and in poor taste. Going to the gym everyday isn’t easy, eating a proper diet isn’t easy, but good things hardly ever come easy, and it’s not fair that people are abusing this drug to shed a few extra pounds for the sake of achieving their ideal of thinness. This is especially sickening when people who actually have diabetes and need the drug, can’t get their hands on it.
“The shortage of Ozempic has been frustrating for our patients and for us health care providers,” said Nicole Schneider, a diabetes nurse practitioner in Madison, Wisconsin. “Some patients have been on Ozempic for many years, and it’s proven to work extremely well for them. It is upsetting that many patients who don’t even have diabetes are getting Ozempic prescriptions for weight loss.”
Another issue that I have with the drug is that people aren’t being transparent about the fact that they’re taking it. Please don’t tell your 20 million+ followers that your new body is all thanks to working out and eating well when it simply just isn’t the case. If you feel you need to take a drug to lose weight, that’s your choice, but don’t lie and simultaneously make people feel bad because they aren’t getting the same results as you. If you’re on it, own it.
In recent weeks, reports have been popping up revealing the drug's accelerated facial aging effects. In a New York Times article, one user said, “I remember looking in the mirror, and it was almost like I didn’t even recognise myself. My body looked great, but my face looked exhausted and old.” In the Times’ article, an NYC derm revealed “A 50-year-old patient will come in, and suddenly, she’s super-skinny and needs filler, which she never needed before. I look at her and say: ‘How long have you been on Ozempic?’ And I’m right 100 per cent of the time,”
But this is just one of the many risks that Ozempic poses. The drug’s official website states the below risks and potential side effects:
-Possible thyroid tumors, including cancer.
-inflammation of your pancreas (pancreatitis). -changes in vision.
-low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
-kidney problems (kidney failure).
-gallbladder problems.
We all want to look and feel our best, I’m included in that hands down. But at what cost? How far are we willing to go to achieve our unrealistic standards of beauty? We have to ask ourselves, why are we so obsessed with looking a certain way? Who is it for? Does it make our lives any more fulfilling? Peaceful? Happier? It’s time we took a good, long look in the mirror and wondered what’s really important to us, and what really enhances the quality of our lives. Chances are the answer has nothing to do with an injectable appetite suppressant.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/style/ozempic-weight-loss-drugs-aging.html
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ozempic-weight-loss-diabetes-drug-11665520937
https://diatribe.org/how-people-diabetes-are-getting-during-ozempic-shortage
