They have been billed as “miracle” drugs and are credited with spurring incredible weight loss transformations in Hollywood.
But first long-term study of Wegovy, which is the same type of medication as Ozempic, suggests that the medications may not be as effective as advertisements make them seem.
After four years of taking the drug, which costs about $1,500 a month, patients lose only 10 percent of their original body weight.
For someone who is severely obese, this may not be enough. For example, someone who weighs 250 pounds would only lose 25 pounds while taking the drug for four years.
Dr. Shauna Levy, an obesity medicine specialist and bariatric surgeon at Tulane University, who was not involved in the study, told DailyMail.com that it probably won’t be enough to protect someone from health problems associated with obesity. severe obesity.
The study showed that over four years people only lost ten percent of their body weight on the medications over four years.
Wegovy, developed by Denmark’s Novo Nordisk, is a weekly injectable drug that causes weight loss of 10 percent on average. So if you start taking the medication while weighing 200 pounds, you’ll probably lose about 20 pounds.
“Anti-obesity medications are not a magic bullet…These are medications, they carry risks and benefits, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution,” he said.
He explained that for people who need significant weight loss, these data suggest that weight-loss medications can only take them so far.
Older treatments, such as surgery, in combination with changes in diet and exercise, might be better ways to approach weight loss.
With bariatric surgery, which involves surgically restricting the size of the stomach or intestines, people can lose 20 to 50 percent of their original body weight, Dr. Levy added.
If your BMI is over 40, he told you, then you may need to consider these other weight loss options.
Dr. Shebani Sethi, associate clinical professor and founding director of Metabolic Psychiatry, admitted that it may not be a panacea for obesity, but losing 10 percent of body weight could help improve heart and brain health in women. people.
He new study was from the manufacturer Ozempic Novo Nordisk and looked at 17,604 adults in 40 countries taking Wegovy, which is the same type of medication but is sold for weight loss rather than treating diabetes.
Wegovy and similar medications like Mounjaro and Zepbound work by mimicking the body’s hormones that tell you when you are full.
When you feel full longer, you tend to eat less and lose weight.
They found that people lost on average 10 percent of their starting body weight after taking Wegovy for one year and three months. Those who continued taking the drug for the next four years were able to maintain that weight loss.
The most important thing is that they did not continue to lose weight, but instead reached a plateau.
This happened to comedian Tracy Morgan, who began gaining weight on Ozempic as a result.
Sometimes, as in the case of TikTok user Shelly, drugs don’t work at all. She shared in a video in October that the medications did nothing but give her acid reflux.
Comedian Tracy Morgan, 55, hit a plateau in his weight loss and said he “overcame Ozempic” while appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
The study also found that people who took Wegovy reduced their risk of heart attack and stroke by almost 20 percent.
This was to be expected, Dr. Shebani Sethi, associate clinical professor and founding director of Metabolic Psychiatry, told DailyMail.com.
“Even a 10% weight loss can be very beneficial for your health.” Dr. Sethi said.
In her personal research, Dr. Sethi has found that small changes in weight loss with Ozempic can lead to improvements in mood and quality of life.
It’s also well established, he noted, that any amount of weight loss will reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
However, the cost of these drugs makes Dr. Sethi think that “the drugs are not going to be a cure-all.”
The average price of Wegovy in the US without insurance is $1,350 per month according to Novo Nordisk.
Other options like Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Zepbound are similarly expensive, costing $935, $1,069, and $1,059 per month, respectively.
Currently, many insurers in the US do not cover Wegovy and Zepbound. Ozempic and Mounjaro might have more insurance options since they were originally approved to treat diabetes, not just prescribed for weight loss.
These new findings could be used to make a case to insurance companies to cover the drug because it helps prevent heart disease.
So if, for example, you weigh 400 pounds and use Wegovy for four years, you would lose 40 pounds and approximately $64,800.
For some people, that amount of money might be worth it for those results.
But for others, that financial cost and the limited benefits they would get from losing 10 percent of their body weight might mean they need to explore other avenues, Dr. Levy told this website.
“I think it’s important to discuss with your doctor whether lasting weight loss of 10% is sufficient for the individual patient, or whether it needs to be combined with other treatment modalities, such as bariatric surgery,” he said.