Callum Jones
Amid its growing popularity, an expert has detailed a lesser known side effect of taking the weight loss drug Ozempic.
There are many ways to shed the pounds in 2025, from the old school method of dieting and exercise to the extreme with weight loss pills and even surgery.
Ozempic, an injection marketed for people with type 2 diabetes to help them manage their blood sugar levels, has become popular in recent years amongst those hoping to lose weight.
Known as semaglutide, the drug was approved in 2017 by the US Food and Drug Aministration (FDA) to help diabetics.
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The medication is administered once every four weeks and is taken once a week, with dosages starting from 0.25mg before increasing each time to the limit of 2mg.
Dr Ben Bickman, who is a scientist and professor at Brigham Young University in Utah, has stated that muscle loss can be brought on from the use of the drug.
"You have a substantial amount of lean mass that's getting loss as the person is losing weight. To make that clear, for every ten pounds of weight loss, only six is fat - four of it is coming from non-fat sources like muscle and bone," he told Thomas DeLauer.
Continuing on the same subject, Dr Bickman added: "While muscle and bone mass might never return, the body has no trouble regaining fat mass.
"What's more, one study found that one version of these drugs, actually stimulates the production of new fat cells."
The doctor added: "This becomes a problem because when a person start to regain fat mass after stopping Ozempic, with more fat cells comes a greater potential to gain more fat.
"As a result, even though a person may still weight less than they did before starting the drug, they may be fatter, with a higher percentage of body fat."
As per Drugs.com, 'obesity trials have shown that participants using incretin mimetic agents like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) lost 10% or more of their muscle mass.'
This was found after clinical trials lasting up to 72 weeks long were conducted by experts.
As Ozempic is a fairly new drug, the long-term effects of taking the drugs on muscle loss remain unclear at this time.
After people conclude taking a dose of ozempic, the expert explained how many immediately put on weight.
"Ozempic is effective at reducing cravings... however well this works, it works until it doesn't," Dr Bickman explained.
"At around two years of use, people find that the sweet cravings return to normal."