“Losing weight will become an Olympic sport during awards season,” actress Jameela Jamil wrote on one of her Instagram posts after this year’s Oscars. According to her, numerous celebrities used injections to lose weight. What is meant by this is a drug that is actually intended to lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
The diabetic, known by the brand name Ozempic or Wegovy, is a prescription medication that is given through an injection into the thigh, abdomen or arm. But the active ingredient semaglutide not only stimulates insulin production, but also acts as an unintended side effect on the areas of the brain that regulate appetite – and thus has an impact on physical appearance. The fact that this is harmful to health hardly seems to interest fans of the new weight loss trend.
In the 1990s, fashion companies, among other things, advertised an unhealthily slim body ideal with role models such as Kate Moss. What followed about 20 years later was a reorientation. Body positivity and an increased awareness of sports and nutrition were promoted primarily on social media. But since the recent return of ’90s heroin chic, many people’s need for size zero has returned at record speed.
During the Oscars ceremony, host Jimmy Kimmel joked, “I can’t help but ask myself, ‘Is Ozempic right for me?'” In the US, the drug became known as a weight loss miracle drug. Allegedly, the Kardashian sisters, among other things, minimized their curves, their followers and other influencers assumed them. The sisters themselves deny its use.
Her more recent Instagram posts are filled with comments like “Is this the new Ozempic ad?” and beneath a photo of Khloé Kardashian, one user wrote, “The fact that she’s using diabetic medicine to get that thin is disturbing.” . To which the entrepreneur replied: “Let’s not discredit my years of training. I get up at 6 a.m., five days a week, to train.” But that would not be enough to look like that, counter their followers.
While the Kardashians have so far denied any procedures such as buttock augmentation – the Brazilian butt lift – and the reversal of the same, Tesla boss Elon Musk stood by his use or abuse of the diabetic. On Twitter, a user commented on Musk’s rapid weight loss with a before and after picture – last summer, topless photos of the billionaire on a yacht circulated, causing ridicule. Since then he has lost almost 14 kilograms. His formula: “Fasting Ozempic/Wegovy no tasty food near me”:
On TikTok was
Experience reports can now be found in numerous versions. The “People” magazine, for example, reported on a 25-year-old nurse from the USA who gained almost 23 kilograms during the corona pandemic. And with Ozempic it decreased again within eleven months. However, after the first injection, within 24 hours she would have experienced side effects such as stomach sensitivity with bloating, cramps, constipation and severe nausea. After stopping the drug, the yo-yo effect came and she gained five kilograms again – in a period of two months.
Regardless of these side effects, experts are concerned for another reason: eating disorders. “Discussions about weight loss drugs contribute to eating disorders because they encourage weight loss at all costs,” Ashley Moser told Healthline magazine. She is a clinical education specialist at a US center specializing in the treatment of eating disorders.
Another side effect that can hardly be desired is sagging facial features, now known as “Ozempic Face”. The cause is too rapid weight loss, which causes the face to appear sunken and older. Similar to the targeted removal of fat from the cheeks – Buccal Fat Removal – a possible consequence of the Ozempic Face is premature aging due to dwindling volume in the face.
New York-based cosmetic surgeon Jennifer Levine told Vogue that rapid weight loss can impair collagen and elastin in the skin. “Imagine a raisin compared to a grape!” Excess skin remains on the face, which can usually only be tightened again with minimally invasive procedures such as fillers or cosmetic procedures that boost the collagen balance.
The Wikipedia entry on semaglutide was only recently changed – the active substance is said to no longer only be used to treat type 2 diabetes, but also “for long-term weight control”. In 2021, the U.S. approved Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Wegovy to treat chronic obesity.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also approved Wegovy 2022 for the EU area. Prerequisite: diabetes, a body mass index of 30 kg/m² – this corresponds to obesity grade I – or weight-related health problems such as high blood pressure. The drug is expected to be on the market later this year. The EMA states: “Obesity can lead to serious health problems and many obese people find it difficult to lose weight. Wegovy is an effective weight loss tool and the side effects are manageable.”
Online pharmacies, on the other hand, list weight loss and a reduced appetite among the drug’s side effects. The effect on non-sick people would be difficult to estimate, according to the online medical practice Zava. In addition, off-label use (i.e. the prescription of a drug for an unauthorized use) would primarily lead to supply bottlenecks for patients who depend on the diabetic.
