World Health Organization set to make monumental decision over drugs like Ozempic as popularity soars
A leaked memo suggests the World Health Organization will change its stance on semaglutide and tirzepatide
The World Health Organization (WHO) is planning to make a historic change regarding drugs similar to Ozempic.
These drugs are known as GLP-1 agonists and they are primarily prescribed to people managing Type-2 diabetes. However, they have gained significant attention in recent times for their growing use for weight loss among celebrities and an increasing number of regular people.
Some famous names that have openly used the semaglutide drug Ozempic for weight loss include Oprah Winfrey and Sharon Osbourne.
Ozempic’s popularity for weight loss is growing, and according to a 2024 survey from KFF, about two in five adults in the US used GLP-1 drugs, which also include Wegovy - which also contains semaglutide - and Mounjaro - which contains tirzepatide - solely for this purpose.
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The findings came after the US Food and Drug Administration reported shortages of GLP-1 drugs, CNN reported.
While Ozempic is FDA-approved for Type-2 diabetes, it has not been approved for weight loss.
Now, it has emerged that the WHO plan to officially back the use of weight-loss drugs to treat obesity in adults for the first time, marking a monumental shift in how obesity is treated.
More than a billion people are considered obese, according to the WHO, and around 70 percent live in low and middle-income countries, according to estimates by the World Bank.
The WHO’s conditional recommendation will be revealed in August regarding semaglutide and tirzepatide, according to Reuters.
The WHO previously said it could not recommend the drugs because there was not enough data on their long-term effects.
The recommendation could make the drugs more widely available, as the WHO calls for urgent action which could include the organization adding both drugs to their essential medicines list as treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes.
The list is a catalogue of drugs that should be made available in poorer countries.
But what about the side effects? Alongside symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain, drugs like Ozempic that induce weight loss can also 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."
People have also started to try to fixing their 'Ozempic face' after taking the medication to aid with weight loss.
Gregory Robinson