Kim and Khloe Kardashian have been accused of using the drug. Elon Musk has acknowledged that he takes it. And the body-positive influencer and actress Jameela Jamil says she fears for everyone who might be on it. |
The headlines are everywhere, and in my opinion, most of the coverage of the weight-loss drug Ozempic has been awful, using stigmatizing language, misrepresenting who the drug is for and pitting one group of people who need medicine against another. |
In today's episode of the Times Opinion podcast "First Person," we delve into what you should really know about the drug semaglutide, which is marketed under the names Ozempic and Wegovy, with one of America's foremost experts in obesity, Harvard's Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford. |
This one's personal for me. I have suffered from obesity all my life and have tried everything from crash diets to operations to try to lose weight. In 2021 I interviewed Dr. Stanford about Covid and obesity, and that conversation helped me understand that the extra pounds I'd been blaming on my lack of willpower were actually the result of a disease that creates dysregulation in the way certain people store fat. Eventually, a doctor prescribed me semaglutide. I have been on it for more than a year. It's been life-changing, but it has also placed me in a robust cultural debate over how to treat obesity and who should get the medicine and when. |
Semaglutide has a fascinating back story. The compound was discovered in the 1990s by a Bronx-based scientist experimenting with the venom of the Gila monster, a lizard found in America's Southwest. That doctor thought the venom could play a role in diabetes treatment but couldn't drum up much interest from drug companies and ended up selling his patent for a pittance. Eventually, though, semaglutide came on the market, in 2017, to help people with diabetes and heart problems, often linked to weight. In June 2021 the Food and Drug Administration approved semaglutide for weight loss marketed under the name Wegovy. |
It works by slowing down your digestion and reducing cravings. The side effects can include nausea, dizziness, diarrhea and constipation, some of which I experienced at first but ultimately went away. Some have said the drug makes them hate food, but I feel I now have a much healthier relationship to what I eat. |
Unsurprisingly (it's a drug, after all, that helps you lose weight), demand for semaglutide grew exponentially in the past year. That has led to a shortage and prompted accusations that celebrities and influencers, as well as those suspected of using it for vanity, are abusing the medication and hurting people who need it to treat conditions associated with their diabetes. |
Unacknowledged in the "Are they or aren't they taking it?" game, though, are the 40 percent of Americans who are obese and might really benefit from this new class of drug. Right now, fewer than two percent of people who qualify for weight loss drugs take them, mainly because they are very expensive and insurance doesn't pay for them if used for weight loss. |
All of this is why I wanted to talk to Dr. Stanford again. In our episode, she argues that the controversy over weight-loss drugs has to do with bias against fat people and widespread ignorance in the medical community, where most doctors are not taught the latest science on obesity or how to treat it. |
My whole life, I've been made to feel ashamed about being fat. Now I am being told I should be ashamed of getting medication for my condition, even though it's prescribed by a doctor, since it's not for diabetes. I'm not arguing that everyone should take this drug. But we need to change the way we discuss obesity in our culture, and my conversation with Dr. Stanford is a good place to start. |
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