Should you use semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy)?

Ozempic and Wegovy appear to be the miracle weight loss drug we have been looking for. Obesity is epidemic causing an estimated 4 million deaths a year worldwide. Patients taking Wegovy lost an average of 35 lbs compared to 6 lbs in the placebo group. It also appears that semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. Before running to your doctor to ask for a prescription, some things to mull over.

1. A lifetime drug. There are a lot of reasons that people become so obese that their health is in danger including depression, anxiety, lack of nutritional knowledge, and a sedentary lifestyle. These drugs do nothing to address the root cause of the obesity which means that the drugs must be used until death or the weight will just balloon back. If someone was unable to successfully address the root cause of their obesity when their doctor warned them their life was in danger, there is little hope that they will be motivated to address them once they fit back into their wedding tux or wedding dress.

2. Cost. The cost of Ozempic and Wegovy is about $1000/mo and so far, insurance will not cover it for weight loss. Since in most cases these drugs will be required for the patients entire lifetime, this has serious financial implications. Identical 30 year old twins. One starts Wegovy at $1000/mo, the other takes that $1000/mo and invests in the stock market earning an average of 10% (historical S&P500 return). 40 years later at age 70, the Wegovy user has no savings while the stock market investing twin has 6.3 million dollars. If you are expecting insurance will start covering these drugs for weight loss, what do you think will happen to health insurance costs? If 1/4 of America starts using a drug costing $12,000 per year then everyones health insurance premium would go up by $3000 per year to cover this cost assuming that healthy people did not drop out of the health insurance system.

3. Health issues. Ozempic has been approved for diabetes since 2017 so we have six years of experience. Side effects: up to 10% will have hair loss, 44% will have nausea, 30% will have diarrhea, 24% will have vomiting, 24% will have constipation, 20% will have abdominal pain, 14% will have headaches, up to 10% will have dizziness, and 11% will have fatigue. My personal concern is about malnutrition. If someone is obese because their diet consists of BigMacs, M&Ms, and Frappachinos then taking Wegovy just takes away their appetite so they eat fewer BigMacs and M&Ms - it doesnt magically teach them to eat legumes, vegetables, and fruits.

Should you use Wegovy?

I know you want a yes/no answer here but I am not qualified to give it to you nor is anyone else on social media. Only your doctor who knows your medical history will be able to give you proper guidance in deciding if the health risks of your obesity are worth the cost and side-effects of the medication.

What is the best way to fight the obesity epidemic?

We all want someone else to pay for our health costs but thats not going to happen in our for-profit healthcare system. In an ideal world, how would we increase the health of our population for a minimum of money? We would address the root causes of the problem which is always the cheapest option! Not only is addressing the root cause cheaper but it also results in higher quality of life. If you take someone whose chronic depression is causing their obesity and give them Wegovy, you end up with a skinny depressed person - not that much of an improvement.

To address the root cause of the problem, we would provide health care and medications for people with depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. We would financially support afterschool sports for K-12 and adult sports leagues as well to promote active lifestyles. We would teach proper nutrition in K-12 and have cooking classes where people learned how to batch cook from raw ingredients. Yes, all these programs would be very expensive but they are far cheaper than Wegovy.