What is Ozempic? How does Ozempic work?

Ozempic, a drug used to treat diabetes, continues to gain attention, as celebrities, a tech giant, and influencers describe taking it to lose weight in a short amount of time.

The Food and Drug Administration first approved the injectable drug to treat diabetes in 2017; the agency approved a drug with a higher dose of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, under the brand name Wegovy to treat obesity in 2021.

Since then, the drug has been a hot topic on the internet. When Elon Musk was asked how he looks “fit, fit and healthy,” he said, Ozempic and Wegovy are not the only drugs gaining popularity for their weight loss effects. In November 2023, the FDA approved Zepbound, a new drug for weight management that contains the same compound as the diabetes drug Monjaro. And similar drugs are in the pipeline, including pill versions of the drugs.

Dr. Disha Narang, an endocrinologist at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, said it’s not uncommon for doctors to prescribe medications for “off-label” use, or for a different purpose than the drug was intended for. As interest in Ozempic has grown, some doctors believe more people have found ways to take the drug for weight loss — either by finding a physician who will prescribe them an off-label drug, or by finding the drug online.

Dr. Narang himself has seen patients “who have somehow found this drug,” he said, taking the drug off-label. (Dr. Narang has previously served on an advisory panel for Novo Nordisk, a common practice for experts in this field.)

How does Ozempic work?

Both Ozempic and Wegovy are designed to be injected once a week into the abdomen, thigh or arm.

Semaglutide lowers blood sugar levels and regulates insulin, which is important for people with type 2 diabetes. The drug also mimics a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 that we naturally make in our intestines, limiting hunger by signaling our bodies that we’re feeling full and prompting our stomachs to empty more slowly.

As a result, people with obesity and its associated health problems have lost weight while taking it. Dr. Janice Jin Hwang, chief of the division of endocrinology and metabolism at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, said people feel full faster. She said that for patients taking the drug, “foods that used to be really exciting to them before are not exciting anymore.

” Some people report that their “food cravings,” or thoughts about food, disappear after taking a drug like Ozempic. The FDA hasn’t approved Ozempic for weight loss, Dr. Andrew Craftson, a clinical associate professor in the division of metabolism, endocrinology and diabetes at Michigan Medicine, pointed out. But when the FDA authorized Wegovy for weight loss, the drug was in such demand that some providers turned to Ozempic when they couldn’t find Wegovy, he explained.