Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Photo
Topics: Health, Ozempic, Drugs, Mental Health
Lucy Devine
Some medics have suggested that the packaging of weight loss medication should be changed due to the risk of a dangerous domino effect.
Weight loss medication has soared in popularity in recent years, with an estimated 12 percent of Americans currently taking some form of it, which equates to around 15-20 million people.
Many of the medications work by mimicking the natural hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which is released in the gut after eating.
This aids the regulation of blood sugar, keeps people feeling fuller for longer and therefore sees them shed the pounds.
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However, some experts have started raising concerns about the drugs, with Dr Zoe Ross-Nash, a licensed clinical psychologist, explaining that the medication should come with a cigarette-style warning.
She told The New York Post: “I think there should be a button that you have to click saying ‘I am consciously making a choice that could really harm my health'.
"Like on cigarette boxes, it says, ‘This could cause cancer.’ OK, well, this [drug] could cause an eating disorder.”
The drugs tend to help people lose weight by encouraging smaller portions and keeping patients fuller for longer. But Dr Thea Gallagher, a clinical psychologist at NYU Langone, explained that while this is great for some, it could be a 'slippery slope' for others.
“A lot of people with restrictive eating disorders — what they’re looking for is to not be hungry,” she explained.
“So I think the idea is like, ‘Oh my gosh, wouldn’t it be nice to not have that food noise, because I’m trying to not eat at all, or really very minimally?’ That could be very dangerous.
“I had a patient who was like, ‘Yeah, I lied about my weight so I could get it prescribed'."
Gallagher added that she's currently seeing another patient who, after losing a significant amount of weight on a GLP-1, is now 'heading into the territory where we have a bit of a phobia of food'.
In a statement, Novo Nordisk, which manufactures Wegovy and type two diabetes drug Ozempic, told UNILAD: "Patient safety is of utmost importance to Novo Nordisk. We do not condone, suggest, or encourage misuse of any of our medicines outside of their approved indications.
"We do our best to ensure patients and doctors are educated about the appropriate use of our products and encourage healthcare providers to only prescribe the right product for the right patient.
"We recognise that eating disorders are serious conditions and deserve specialised clinical attention from healthcare providers who treat them, and we trust that healthcare providers are evaluating a patient’s individual needs in determining which medicine is right for that patient according to approved label."
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone, contact the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD). You can reach them on their free hotline at 1(888)-375-7767, which is open Monday-Friday, 9am-9pm CST.