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Topics: Ozempic, Sharon Osbourne, Health, News
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Ozempic, Sharon Osbourne, Health, News
More information about the side effects of medications being used for weight loss, like Ozempic, are coming to light.
It's said that one in eight Americans have tried GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic - a type of medication aimed at helping those with Type 2 Diabetes.
While Ozempic is cleared by the FDA to help with diabetes, it has not has not been approved as a weight loss option, as the FDA have not studied the drug for weight loss and management.
Similar GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide (Wegovy) and liraglutide (Saxenda) have been approved by the FDA to help treat obesity, however.
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Ozempic might not have been cleared as a medication to take for weight loss alone, but some doctors are still prescribing it 'off-label' to patients without diabetes. It's thought that approximately 30 million Americans have used Ozempic - and it's unlikely that these figures come from just diabetes patients alone.
A simulation was recently created to demonstrate what happens to your body once you inject the drug, which left some viewers horrified.
Some famous faces to have openly used Ozempic include Oprah Winfrey and Sharon Osbourne.
And fans expressed concerns about Osbourne in particular recently after she shared a snap of her watching TV with her grandson. In the photo, she was barefoot and fans pointed out that her feet looked particularly frail.
Drugs like Ozempic which induce weight loss can affect a person's skin, says health.com.
The website explains: "Some people have reported 'Ozempic face' and 'Ozempic butt' or loose, sagging, or aging skin on the faces and buttocks from rapid weight loss.
"The skin has less tissue to cover in either case, which can make it sag or seem less plump."
While it's usually seen in a person's face or backside, it can seemingly be noticeable on a person's feet as well.
READ MORE:
5 THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO YOUR BODY AFTER YOU STOP TAKING OZEMPIC
Discussing the photo of Osbourne that's been widely discussed online, Dr Barry Weintraub, a New York-based board certified plastic surgeon, told the Daily Mail: "Without having had the opportunity to examine Sharon in person, the veiny and sagging skin the top and sides of the foot might be a result of the new lack of water retention due to a decreased BMI cause by Ozempic or other such weight-loss drug.
"As the heart becomes less taxed with extra weight, the water retention decreases, and the substructures of the foot (veins, tendons, bones) often become more visible."