“Until recently, the dominance of ultra-processed food and alcohol companies has seemed unassailable.
With corporate food engineers cranking out more and more hyper-palatable products, the negative health impacts seemed to only be moving in one direction. The tide might be about to turn.”
An Ozempic baby boom?Some GLP-1 users report unexpected pregnancies
Across social media, women who have used Ozempic or similar medications for diabetes or weight loss are reporting an unexpected side effect — surprise pregnancies.
The Facebook group “I got pregnant on Ozempic,” has more than 500 members. Numerous posts on Reddit and TikTok discuss unplanned pregnancies while on Ozempic and similar drugs which can spur significant weight loss by curbing appetite and slowing the digestive process. The drugs are known as “Glucagon-like peptide 1” or GLP-1 drugs.
The reports of an Ozempic baby boom are anecdotal, and it’s not known how widespread the phenomenon is. Experts say significant weight loss can affect fertility. Others speculate that the GLP-1 drugs could interfere with the absorption of oral contraceptives, causing birth control failures.
“Forget Chanel, Dior or Prada: This year, the most prominent designers on the red carpet are Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, whose injectable weight-loss drugs are the new couture.”
Hollywood trainers have clients stuck in the bathroom with nausea and vomiting, restaurants are down as no one is hungry and even plastic surgeons are losing their liposuction business, although they now are doing post-#Ozempic body sculpting.
Some men are throwing in testosterone, with added risks (maybe Jeff Bezos, Musk?)
Editors Note: Most of the stuff people are doing in Hollywood is NOT smart. Best to stay with a good diet and exercise to stay healthy!
Delaware is 43rd among states in the US with 38% of the population considered obese! For comparison, West Virginia is 50th with 41% obese, and Colorado ranked 1st with 25% obese.
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/measures/Obesity/DE
GLP-1 medications semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) are expensive treatment options for obesity, usually $1,000 or more per month (although insurers and PBM’s pay less – I’ve heard around $500 +/-) The State of Delaware is currently blaming the expense of these medications on the increase in cost of the State Employee benefit programs.
Not factored in are the savings from complications of diabetes and hypertension and the reduction in cardiovascular and orthopedic disorders (savings which may take years to show up.)
Presently, Delaware has been spending about $2.5 million a month on these drugs – total health plan spending over the first six months is about $15 million, which would equate to $30 million per year!
Delaware chose to cover the drugs last March and is now reassessing whether to make changes to its coverage policies. The State Employee Benefits Committee, which oversees Delaware’s health care plans for state workers and retirees, will be discussing this issue at upcoming meetings on Feb. 20, March 11 and 25 before making a recommendation to the State. Email the benefits committee at sebc@delaware.gov if you would like to comment.
Ethical and Health Concerns
According to a recent NPR story on Delaware Public Media, drugs like Ozempic can help weight loss, but not without ethical and health concerns.
“North Carolina shouldered the cost of the weight loss drug Wegovy for 2,800 state workers in 2021. Last year, that number shot up to 25,000 totaling $100 million.
Last Thursday, the state decided not to pay for it any longer. Celebrities and people like Elon Musk who can afford $1,000 a month for Ozempic and Wegovy can still get them. However, a nurse in North Carolina told The New York Times that finding Wegovy is like winning the lottery.
These Food and Drug Administration-approved, plant-based injectable drugs were initially developed to treat diabetes, but they also help with obesity. But demand for Ozempic and Wegovy’s weight-loss properties rose so high that diabetics had trouble finding them. There aren’t enough chemicals to keep up with the demand, creating a scarcity.”
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2024/02/05/ozempic-health-concerns-ethics
Recent evidence on benefits of weight loss on hypertension:
https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.11.032
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.22022
GLP-1 agents such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) are game-changers. In addition to weight loss, they may reduce neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimers dementia, due to a reduction in metabolic syndrome, reduction in vascular events and neuroprotective effects.
“GLP-1 plays important role in augmenting insulin signalling inside the brain. GLP-1 receptors, present inside the brain, are also involved in cognition, synaptic transmission in hippocampal neurons, and cell apoptosis. Overexpression of this receptor is responsible for cognition enhancement and neuroprotection, while deficiency increases the chances of seizure and neurodegeneration (81, 82). Therefore, GLP-1 receptors are considered as validated target for exploring candidates with better neuroprotection and cognition enhancing abilities (83).”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9159769/
A preliminary review of side effects from popular drugs used to treat diabetes and obesity shows no link with suicidal thoughts or actions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.
But the agency also said officials cannot definitively rule out that “a small risk may exist” and that they’ll continue to look into reports regarding more than a dozen drugs, including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro. Patients taking the drugs should report any concerns to health care providers, the FDA said.
https://apnews.com/article/wegovy-ozempic-obesity-suicide-thoughts-fda-fbe7b158e78c199f8f8d3a551dcaa60d
CNMRI: Neurology, Sleep Medicine, MRI 