There’s no magic weight reduction drug

From Elon Musk to TikTokers, ongoing social media chatter claims medicine like Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy are the magic strategy to weight reduction.

There’s excellent news, says Aminat Ogun, MD, a household medication doctor at OSF HealthCare in Champaign, Illinois. These medicine can assist you drop some weight when prescribed by a health care provider below particular circumstances and paired with eating regimen and train.

The extra necessary dangerous information? There’s no magic, one-size-fits-all drug that can by itself trigger you to shed kilos. And if somebody on social media is claiming so, they’re unsuitable.

Dr. Ogun says Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy are from the identical household of drugs. They’re often prescribed to folks with Sort 2 diabetes.

“It will increase the insulin within the physique, which helps carry glucose into the cells,” Dr. Ogun explains.

The medicines additionally sluggish meals leaving your abdomen and suppress urge for food.

As soon as the medicine grew to become extra well-known, Dr. Ogun says folks discovered, not surprisingly, that weight reduction was a facet impact and started prescribing them for that function below particular circumstances. She says the affected person ought to have a body mass index (BMI) larger than 30 or a BMI larger than 27 with a continual situation like diabetes, hypertension or hyperlipidemia.

However even when you meet these pointers, Dr. Ogun says you need to speak together with your physician about whether or not a weight reduction drug is best for you or whether or not merely altering habits can get the outcomes you need.

For one, Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy are costly and is probably not lined by insurance coverage.

Additionally, the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration studies a scarcity of Ozempic and Wegovy. So Dr. Ogun says medical doctors could also be much less more likely to prescribe the medicine for weight reduction when diabetics might have a extra essential want.

And like another medicine, there’s a listing of unintended effects.

“Belly ache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation are doable,” Dr. Ogun says. “There are additionally hypersensitivity unintended effects like angioedema and an anaphylaxis response. It’s additionally been identified to trigger kidney damage or pancreatitis.”

One final piece of recommendation you’ll hear medical doctors give again and again: don’t depend on social media for well being ideas. In case you discover a tip that may profit you, speak to your physician earlier than beginning any therapy.

“The advantage of social media is that it permits lots of people to obtain a wide range of data unexpectedly,” Dr. Ogun says. “The draw back: is it a reputable supply?”

Discover a major care supplier on the OSF HealthCare website.