Weight loss drugs are thought to be triggering a rise in the centuries-old disease typically associated with pirates and sailors, scurvy.
Once very taboo, weight loss jobs are arguably the norm now in most societies, with millions of people in countries like the UK, Australia, and the US taking the drugs.
A KFF poll conducted late last year found that one in eights adults were (at the time of the survey) taking GLP-1s for weight loss purposes.
Meanwhile, new data from the University College London said 1.6 million Brits had used weight loss drugs like Wegovy or Mounjaro in the last 12 months.
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People considering taking the medication have long been warned of the possible side effects they'll experiences on the jabs, but there's a new ailment that some people are reportedly experiencing while taking GLP-1s...
The newly talked about side effect is the development of scurvy.
What is scurvy?
Scurvy is a vitamin C deficiency that people get if they don't have enough of the vitamin in their diets.
"Not eating enough fruits and vegetables is the main cause of the disease," Mayo Clinic explains. "Left untreated, scurvy can lead to bleeding gums, loosened teeth and bleeding under your skin."
Other symptoms or scurvy include: anemia, swollen legs, rough skin, opening of previously healed wounds, and brittle hair.
The usual treatment for disease includes integrating more vitamin c into a person's diet and dietary supplements.
The new findings
Clare Collins, a professor in nutrition and dietetics at the Newcastle School of Health Sciences, conducted a review of studies looking into weight loss jabs and found that of 41 controlled trials, only two of them recorded dietary intake.
Speaking to The Australian Financial Review and expressing her concerns about malnutrition in GLP-1 users, Collins said: "Only one [trial] had published what people ate. We wrote to all the authors, and got data from one more trial. This is being missed.
"It does not give you an opportunity on how it might impact their dietary intake. We know there are a lot of side effects. For such an expense it is a marked miss."
The expert further noted: "A reduction in body weight does not automatically mean the person is well, nourished or healthy. Nutrition plays a critical role in health and right now it’s largely missing from the evidence."
Examples of it happening
Robbie Williams said he'd been diagnosed with scurvy last year while taking weight loss medications.
"I’d stopped eating and I wasn’t getting nutrients," he admitted to The Mirror. Because of this he became so vitamin C deficient he was even diagnosed with scurvy.
The 'Let Me Entertain You' hitmaker described the illness as 'A 17th century pirate disease'.
And it turns out that Williams isn't alone in his health woes while taking GLP-1s as scurvy – which can be life-threatening is some cases – is seeing a resurgence in the UK and cases have risen 25 percent since 2007.
Responding to the new data, a spokesperson for Novo Dordisk told UNILAD: "Given that the side effect to which you refer [scurvy] is not a recognised one that appears in the label, I don’t have anything specific I can share on this. I do have a more general statement though, and we recommend anyone experiencing any adverse events reports them to the MHRA to ensure relevant safety data is appropriately captured."
They added that it should be noted that the GLP-1 Ozempic 'is indicated for type 2 diabetes and is not an approved option for weight loss'.
Eli Lilly has also been approached for comment.
Topics: Health, News, Weight loss
Niamh Shackleton