Should I be using Ozempic to lose weight?
- riseupfitness
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Originally developed to help treat diabetes, the popularity and use of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro for weight loss have been skyrocketing in the US in recent years. As of September 2024, over 5% of all prescriptions written (1 in 20) for these drugs have been for weight loss. That’s staggering, considering most insurance companies don’t cover these drugs for weight loss and it can cost $1,000 (or more!) per month.
So the big question is…. should I be using GLP-1 Drugs like Ozepic to help me lose weight and improve my health?
Well…. let‘s look at data and detangle some of the pros and cons!
How GLP-1 drugs work:
GLP-1 is a hormone that your small intestine makes. It has several roles, including:
Triggering insulin release from your pancreas, lowering the amount of glucose (sugar) in your blood.
Blocking glucagon secretion, which prevents more glucose from going into your bloodstream.
Slowing stomach emptying, meaning that your body releases less glucose (sugar) from the food you eat into your bloodstream.
Increasing how full you feel after eating, which affects the areas of your brain that process hunger and satiety.
GLP-1 medications work by mimicking this hormone, therefore reducing your food intake, appetite, and hunger. These combined effects often result in weight loss.
Pros
GLP-1 drugs do actually help you lose weight!
A study in the New England Journal of Medicine of almost 2,000 adults with a BMI of 30 or higher were given a once-weekly semaglutide at a dose of 2.4 mg over 68 weeks. The average person lost 14.9% of their weight or 33.7lbs.
A reduction in weight can result in improvement to your cardiovascular health, reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, certain types of cancers, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and potentially benefiting neurological conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's.
Reducing your weight will also improve mobility, boost energy, increase your sex drive, and improve your sleep and possibly self-esteem.
Cons
A significant amount of the weight lost on GLP-1 drugs is loss of muscle mass.
Studies suggest muscle loss with these medications ranges from 25% to 39% of the total weight lost over 36–72 weeks. For someone who loses 30 lbs, this would equate to a 7.5-11.7 pounds of muscle loss.
When stopping GLP-1 drugs, the majority of people gain weight back.
One study showed that one year after stopping once‐weekly injections of 2.4 mg, participants regained two‐thirds of their prior weight loss. This suggests that ongoing treatment may be required to maintain improvements in weight.
We don’t have good research on the long term side effects of taking GLP-1 drugs for an extended period of time (think years or even decades).
Some people experience side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Takeaways from the data
Most people who go on GLP-1 drugs lose weight but also lose a significant amount of muscle mass.
Muscle is extremely hard to gain back in the quantities described above, especially for people who are 40 or older.
When most people go off GLP-1 drugs, they regain the majority - if not all - of the weight they have lost.
Most importantly: If you lose muscle mass that you are not likely to regain AND you do not keep off the weight you lost, you are actually increasing your body fat percentage. This could potentially make you more unhealthy and at a higher risk for chronic diseases than before taking the drugs.
While GLP-1 drugs can be effective and necessary for people treating diabetes, here are some of the things to consider before using them purely for weight loss.
It’s always best to consult a physician before taking any medications.
Will you be using this as a short or mid term solution, or is this something you plan to be on for years or potentially the rest of your life?
It’s important to have a well-balanced diet, including adequate amounts of protein to reduce the loss in muscle mass.
It’s important to exercise regularly including strength training to reduce the loss of muscle mass.
Are you committed to ongoing lifestyle changes for your health in conjunction with the use of these drugs?
It’s still unclear in the research if people who use GLP-1 drugs who are exercising regularly and eating healthy foods (including protein) can avoid the massive muscle loss. But even if that is the case, the vast majority of people taking GLP-1 drugs have not established these healthy habits. GLP-1 drugs can be used as a tool in some situations to aid weight loss, but it’s important to understand that it is a tool and not a full solution. For someone looking to make a serious and long lasting change in their health, diet and exercise are always going to be the most important factors.
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