They’ve been billed as the cure-all for weight loss, but doctors are warning millions of patients are not shedding fat while taking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.
Obesity experts have come forward warning about 20 percent of patients do not respond well to the medications.
About 31million Americans have ever taken weight-loss drugs, meaning millions of people are ‘non responders’ and not reaping the intended benefits.
Experts say this is especially concerning given how expensive the drugs are – more than $800 for a month’s supply without insurance – and the fact that many people need to take them for life to avoid regaining any lost weight.
Still, the Biden administration announced plans this week to expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage to include these drugs.
Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are all injectable GLP-1 receptor agonists, and they work by imitating a hormone in the body that controls the rate food gets processed in the gut – slowing this process down. This reduces appetite and helps people eat less.
In clinical trials, most people taking the drugs for obesity lost an average of 15 to 22 percent of their body weight.
Recent research, however, suggests the non responders fall far short of the average loss, losing just five percent of their body weight.
Other people struggle to lose weight using the drugs. Comedian Tracy Morgan said despite initial changes in appetite, he ‘out-ate’ Ozempic, and gained 40 pounds while on the drug
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Scientists aren’t sure what exactly happens in non responders, but think it has to do with the unique biology of the body.
Dr Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital, told the Associated Press obesity varies drastically from patient to patient and doctors warn people should not expect the same dramatic results as some of their favorite celebrities.
Obesity is influenced by genetics, hormones and how a person’s brain functions and regulates body processes.
Dr Stanford said: ‘It’s all about explaining that different people have different responses. This is a disease that stems from the brain. The dysfunction may not be the same [from patient to patient].’
Underlying conditions can also affect how a person responds to these drugs, Dr Gitanjali Srivastava, an obesity specialist at Vanderbilt University, previously told Dailymail.com.
Dr Srivastava said: ‘Oftentimes these patients have very complicated conditions.
‘There are a lot of factors going on, including probably very strong genetics that are at play.’
This includes common complications like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and hypothyroidism – two conditions that affect weight gain – and are suffered by an estimated 5million and 29million Americans, respectively.
Comedian Tracy Morgan, 56, shared in Spring 2024 that he ‘out-ate’ Ozempic, and actually gained 40 pounds while on the drug.
And James Corden said: ‘I tried Ozempic, and it won’t be surprising to you when you look at me now, that it didn’t really work.’
James Corden admitted to using Ozempic but said ‘it didn’t really work’
He continued: ‘I tried it for a bit and then what I realized was I was like, “Oh no, nothing about my eating has anything to do with being hungry.”
‘All it does is make you feel not hungry. But I am very rarely eating [just because I’m hungry].’
Kandi Buress also said she tried Ozempic last year but didn’t lose any weight.
She said on PageSix’s Virtual Reali-Tea podcast: ‘My doctor was like, “I don’t know what the problem is. I’m not seeing this in other people.”
‘It didn’t curb my appetite. I know some people are like, “Oh, I can’t eat.” Not me. I was eating appetizers, a regular meal and dessert, okay? It didn’t stop anything for me.’
And many social media users shared similar stories, with one person saying they gained 13lbs while taking a weight-loss drug.
TikTok user Shelly said the medication wasn’t working for her so she increased to the highest dose for five months but still did not see results.
Even people who do respond initially are increasingly reporting when they cease taking the drug, their weight comes back.
Of the many GLP-1 drugs that have hit the market, Wegovy and Zepound have been designed specifically for weight loss. Ozempic, Mounjaro and Trulicity were originally designed to treat diabetes, but are sometimes prescribed by doctors to treat patients off-label
An April 2022 study found when some people discontinue the drug, they regain two thirds of their original body weight.
Additionally, side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and depression lead users to discontinue the medications.
Then, there are more rare, serious conditions.
About one in 100 GLP-1 users develop a condition called gastroparesis – stomach paralysis. This can cause stomach pain, vomiting, nausea, bloating, constipation and loss of appetite.
Over time, a back up of stomach contents can cause severe dehydration, malnutrition and blockages in the digestive tract, according to Yale School of Medicine.
If someone begins showing signs of this condition, their doctor may recommend they taper off their GLP-1 drug.
If someone has a bad response to one of these drugs but still wants to try using the medications, doctors sometimes prescribe them a different brand.
Some of these contain different active ingredients and others have different dosages or side effects.
So while the drugs are promising for a large number of people, increasing evidence shows they aren’t necessarily a cure-all.
