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Maintaining a Healthy Weight | National Institute on Aging

Maintaining a Healthy Weight | National Institute on Aging

Several factors can impact your pounds, which include your genes, age, gender, life-style, spouse and children patterns, tradition, rest, and even in which you dwell and perform. Some of these elements can make it hard to maintain or reach a healthful pounds. Regardless, pursuing a healthy eating pattern and training consistently can aid keep your physique as nutritious as feasible as you age. Go through on to understand why pounds could adjust as you get older, why it’s critical to purpose for a wholesome body weight, and what you can do to assist meet your objectives.

Why does fat modify as we age?

As we age, metabolism — how the physique will get electrical power from food items — can adjust. This signifies that some more mature adults have to turn out to be additional active or try to eat less energy to manage or obtain their best bodyweight.

Other more mature older people might drop pounds unintentionally. This can occur if you have significantly less of an urge for food, problem leaving the property to purchase food items, pain when chewing or swallowing, or neglect to eat.

Why really should more mature grown ups maintain a wholesome body weight?

Retaining your body weight in the regular selection is an essential aspect of wholesome getting older. As in other levels of existence, elevated body mass index (BMI) in more mature adults can increase the probability of building wellbeing troubles. These involve coronary heart disease, superior blood stress, stroke, and diabetic issues. Shedding pounds or protecting a nutritious body weight can support reduce these challenges.

Remaining underweight also increases your chance of creating health troubles. If you have a reduced BMI, you may perhaps be far more very likely to create health-related complications this kind of as osteoporosis and anemia, and it could be harder to recover from an sickness or infection.

How are foodstuff, exercising, and energy related?

Being energetic and choosing nutritious foods can help you retain or attain a healthful weight, truly feel much more energetic, and minimize your odds of obtaining other health challenges. It’s essential to pick out food items prosperous in nutrition and goal for at minimum 150 minutes of bodily exercise for each 7 days.

The power your system receives from the meals and beverages you eat is measured in energy. Your overall body desires a particular variety of calories each and every day, depending on your action degree and other components, to manage your current excess weight. Check out MyPlate Prepare to ascertain how several energy a working day you need to have based on your age, sexual intercourse, top, excess weight, and physical activity degree.

To get rid of body weight, exercising a lot more or take in fewer calories than is recommended. To achieve pounds, maximize the variety of calories you try to eat whilst retaining a reasonable exercise stage.

Read through extra about creating wise food items options and obtain tips of how a lot to try to eat, organized by activity level.

What should really I eat to shed or attain body weight?

Image linking to 5 tips for choosing healthier foods as you age infographic

Examine and share this infographic to master about creating much healthier foods possibilities as you age.

Irrespective of whether you are hoping to lose or achieve fat, eating nutritious food items issues. Try out to comply with a healthy taking in pattern loaded in vegetables, fruits, full grains, small-fats dairy, and lean proteins. If you’re concerned about your fat and want to change it, there are points you can do. Talk with a wellness treatment professional about how to make variations in a nutritious way which is ideal for you.

Seeking to lose pounds?

  • Restrict portion sizing to control calorie intake.
  • Be as bodily lively as you can be.
  • Swap out your usual food items for more healthy options.
  • Continue to be hydrated with drinking water and avoid drinks with extra sugar.
  • Set particular, realistic plans, this sort of as 3 15-minute walks for every week.
  • If there is a split in your healthier having or exercising, try out to get again on keep track of as rapidly as doable.
  • Hold keep track of of what you consume in a foodstuff diary.

Attempting to get body weight?

  • Try to eat far more food items with wholesome fats, this sort of as avocados and peanut butter.
  • If you get comprehensive speedily, try to eat recurrent, more compact foods all through the working day.
  • Increase nutrient-dense treats these kinds of as nuts, cheese, and dried fruit to your menu.
  • Dine with pals and spouse and children to make the practical experience extra fulfilling.
  • Keep lively to improve your urge for food.

How a lot bodily exercise do I have to have?

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Workout and physical activity are great for just about absolutely everyone like older older people. Aim for at the very least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio action — working really hard adequate to elevate your heart amount and break a sweat — each 7 days. You never have to complete this all at once, instead, you can crack up your exercise above the training course of seven days. If you simply cannot meet the objective appropriate absent, test to be as bodily active as you can. Performing some thing is better than performing almost nothing at all.

For adults at each individual body weight, ageing is connected with muscle mass reduction, which will make specified things to do complicated. Becoming energetic can assist more mature older people preserve muscle mass and make it simpler to conduct each day functions, participate in outings, push, preserve up with grandchildren, avoid falls, and keep as impartial as possible.

You do not will need to commit a good deal of income joining a health club or hiring a private trainer to get in good shape. Think about the types of actual physical actions that you take pleasure in, for instance, going for walks, functioning, bicycling, gardening, swimming, and dancing. Even everyday chores this kind of as vacuuming can supply physical exercise. When you’re finding started with exercising, consider to remain motivated to go your system regularly. Then maximize the size of time you work out or include a further fun action. Talk with your health practitioner before commencing a new or a lot more vigorous exercising plan.

Study about this subject in Spanish. Lea sobre este tema en español.

For much more information on preserving a wholesome body weight

This articles is supplied by the NIH National Institute on Getting older (NIA). NIA scientists and other experts evaluation this content to make sure it is exact and up to day.

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April 07, 2022

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The hCG Diet Plan May Help You Lose Weight, but at What Cost?

The hCG Diet Plan May Help You Lose Weight, but at What Cost?

Is the hCG diet a safe, healthy and effective way to drop pounds? Or is it a gimmicky, unhealthy and…

Is the hCG diet a safe, healthy and effective way to drop pounds? Or is it a gimmicky, unhealthy and even unsafe regimen that doesn’t help its followers achieve long-term weight loss?

Many experts think poorly of the hCG diet — which combines an extremely low daily calorie intake with the ingestion of the hormone hCG — as an effective way to lose weight.

“Two thumbs down,” says Lise Gloede, a registered dietitian based in Arlington, Virginia. “The hCG diet is considered very low calorie, and while you will likely lose weight, it will likely lower your metabolism and throw off the needed skill of listening to your hunger/satiety cues, which are very helpful in long-term weight management. “Making good food choices, attention to portions, and finding ways to stay physically active all year long will be far more health promoting and wiser for long-term weight loss.”

While a number of versions of the hCG diets are available online, science does not back up the claims of the eating regimen’s proponents that it’s a safe and efficient approach to weight loss, says Beth Czerwony, a registered dietitian with Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Human Nutrition.

“While the hCG diet provides quick weight loss, long term it’s too hard to maintain and can cause serious side effects including nutrient deficiencies,” she says.

[READ: Probiotics for Weight Loss.]

What Is hCG?

The acronym hCG stands for human chorionic gonadotropin. The hormone is made by cells formed in the placenta, which nourishes the egg after it’s been fertilized and becomes attached to the uterine wall, says David Friedman, a clinical nutritionist and board-certified alternative medical practitioner based in Wilmington, North Carolina. He’s the author of “Food Sanity: How to Eat in a World of Fads and Fiction.”

Proponents of the hCG diet claim the hormone suppresses one’s appetite. In conjunction with a low-calorie count, the hCG diet also calls for daily drops, pills or injections of hCG.

Cynthia Williams, an integrative nutrition practitioner in Louisville, Kentucky, says she’s worked with clients who have been on the hCG diet. Some received injections of the hormone, and some got synthetic versions. “Different clinics (that provide hCG for weight loss) have different approaches,” she says.

With its extreme calorie restrictions, the hCG diet isn’t sustainable, and many of her clients gain more weight than they initially lost when they aren’t able to maintain the regimen. Williams helps them attain a healthy, sustainable eating regimen.

What Is the hCG Diet?

The first iteration of the hCG diet was outlined in 1954 in the book “Pounds and Inches: A New Approach to Obesity,” by A.T.W. Simeons, who created the diet.

There are two key components of the hCG diet: One is that the hCG diet calls for adherents to take the hormone daily, either through an injection, typically into the thigh, or taking it orally, either as a pellet or tablet or from a spray.

The other key component of the hCG diet is limiting your intake to just 500 to 800 calories a day.

Many dietitians promote the importance of eating a healthy breakfast, but under the regimen that Simeons developed, there’s no solid food before lunch. If a dieter has breakfast, it typically consists of a cup of black coffee or tea of any size, with no sugar, though calorie-free sweeteners are allowed. If you drink milk, you can have one tablespoon every 24 hours.

Under the hCG diet, most of the day’s calories come from lunch and dinner, primarily from protein sources. Under the plan, you’d consume 3.5 ounces of lean, fat-free protein at each meal. The hCG eating plan also calls for consuming modest amounts of vegetables and fats.

[READ: Do Weight-Loss Pills Work?]

HCG Diet Foods: What Can I Eat?

The hCG eating regimen emphasizes getting protein from these broad food groups:

— Fish, such as scallops, crab or white fish.

— Lean meats, like buffalo or extra-lean beef.

— Chicken.

Fattier seafood choices, such as salmon, tuna, herring and dried or pickled fish, are off-limits under the hCG diet eating plan. Dieters also need to remove the visible fat from protein sources before boiling or grilling them. It’s OK to substitute an egg or a serving of low-fat cottage cheese for meat on occasion.

One low-calorie vegetable is allowed as part of both lunch and dinner.

Recommended veggies include:

— Asparagus.

— Beet greens.

— Broccoli.

— Cauliflower.

— Celery.

— Chard.

— Cucumbers.

— Fennel.

— Mixed greens.

— Red radishes.

— Tomatoes.

You can have one fruit at lunch and at dinner.

HCG-approved fruit includes:

— Apples.

— Blueberries.

— Oranges.

— Raspberries.

— Strawberries.

As for carbohydrates, people on the hCG diet can have one piece of Melba toast or one breadstick at dinner. Both are allowed because they don’t have fat, sodium or cholesterol and are low in calories.

The plan also doesn’t allow for carbohydrate-rich foods such as muffins, pasta and bagels, with or without cream cheese. Seasonings such as salt, pepper, sweet basil, parsley and mustard powder are acceptable. Oil (even healthy cooking oils), butter and any type of dressing are not allowed under the diet.

One thing that the hCG diet has in common with many other eating regimens is that it doesn’t recommend eating foods with added sugars. Among the food items not allowed under the hCG diet include cookies and chocolates.

What Does Science Say About the hCG Diet?

Advocates of the hCG diet say the hormone boosts weight loss by “blasting” fat. But a meta-analysis published in 2020 in the Family Physicians Inquiries Network concluded that the hCG diet provides “no additional benefit” over a low-calorie diet alone when it comes to weight loss.

Additionally, a review of research that appeared in 2015 in the journal Blood, a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Society of Hematology, found that a dozen studies reported that weight loss associated with the use of hCG “was no greater than with the use of a placebo or with the use of diet only. It was concluded that there is no scientific evidence that hCG is effective in the treatment of obesity; it does not bring about weight loss or fat redistribution, nor does it reduce hunger or induce a feeling of well-being.”

FDA Warnings About hCG Diet Products

Friedman notes that the Food and Drug Administration warns consumers against using hCG for weight loss. The FDA advises people who are using “homeopathic” hCG for weight loss to stop using it and to discard the product.

In November 2011, the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters to seven hCG marketers, advising them that their products were mislabeled under the FDA Act. The letters warned the marketers that it’s unlawful under the FDA Act to make weight-loss claims that aren’t supported by reliable scientific evidence.

“These products are marketed with incredible claims, and people think that if they’re losing weight, hCG must be working,” Elizabeth Miller, who at the time was acting director of the FDA’s Division of Non-Prescription Drugs and Health Fraud, said in the statement. “But the data simply does not support this; any (weight) loss is from the severe calorie restriction. Not from the hCG.”

What’s more, in 2020 the FDA announced that hCG “is not approved without a prescription and is not approved for weight loss.” The statement noted that the FDA “has approved hCG as a prescription drug for the treatment of female infertility and for other medical conditions. HCG is not approved for use without a prescription for any purpose. It is not approved for weight loss.”

Despite the FDA warnings, Dr. Nancy Rahnama, a board-certified internist and bariatric physician in Beverly Hills, California, says she still sees patients who use hCG products. “We discuss the risks associated with the hormone and advise them to stop the medication,” she says. “Anyone who has considered or been prescribed hCG as a form of weight loss should discuss the risks with his or her primary care physician.”

Consumers can report harmful effects online to the FDA’s MedWatch program or by calling 1-800-332-1088. Dieters can also report ill effects from the regimen to their healthcare professionals.

[READ: How to Safely Lose Weight Fast.]

Health Risks of the hCG Diet

One of the main criticisms of the hCG diet is that its recommendation of consuming just 500 to 800 calories a day is extreme and could lead to nutritional deficits.

Depending on a person’s age, sex, height, weight and level of physical activity, the federal government recommends from 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day for adult women and 2,000 to 3,000 calories a day for adult men. If you’re trying to lose weight, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends, in general, women shouldn’t dip below 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day and men should stick with 1,500 to 1,800 calories per day.

These low-calorie diets can also adversely affect your resting metabolic rate, or the number of calories your body normally burns when at rest. When the body tips into starvation mode, your metabolic rate drops.

Depending on how few calories you were eating — and how long you were following the diet — when you start consuming more calories, your metabolic rate may stay permanently sluggish. This means it’s easier to gain weight and even put on extra pounds than you had originally.

“In my opinion, eating just 500 (to 800) calories a day is dangerous. It deprives the body of vital vitamins, minerals and protein,” Friedman says.

Many registered dietitians, including Gloede, for example, share Friedman’s concerns that the number of calories the hCG diet calls for is too low to provide the nutrients the body needs.

Eating a restrictive diet can cause an array of health problems, Friedman says, including an imbalance of the electrolytes that keep the body’s muscles and hands functioning properly and an irregular heartbeat.

Side effects of hCG include:

— Blood clots.

— Depression.

— Enlarged breasts in men.

— Swelling in the feet and hands.

Can I Lose Weight on the hCG Diet?

While it may lead to quick weight loss for many people, the hCG diet’s strict calorie restriction isn’t sustainable or healthy in the long run, says Kaylee Jacks, a sports dietitian with Texas Health Sports Medicine in Dallas. “Nutrients from carbohydrates and healthy fats that are required for optimal health are avoided in this diet,” she says.

“The only ‘pro’ this diet has is weight loss,” Jacks says. “There are many cons, including the high risk of malnutrition from dietary restrictions. I can’t recommend this diet.”

Adhering to a low-calorie diet may produce short-term weight loss, Friedman adds. However, research suggests that such weight loss is no greater in people restricting their calories with hCG than in individuals who cut calories while taking a placebo, he notes.

More from U.S. News

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The hCG Diet Plan May Help You Lose Weight, but at What Cost?

originally appeared on usnews.com

Update 12/02/22: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.

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What Is Ozempic And Does It Work For Weight Loss?

What Is Ozempic And Does It Work For Weight Loss?

When 28-year-old Danielle K. gained around 50 pounds during the pandemic, she tried everything to drop the weight: intermittent fasting, working out consistently, and focusing on a balanced diet. But nothing made a difference on the scale or in the mirror.

Danielle’s sister has type 1 diabetes and has started taking a prescription drug called Ozempic that has a known weight loss side effect. While the drug is technically prescribed and FDA-approved to treat type 2 diabetes, Danielle noticed that her sister shed “a significant amount of weight” after a year of injections. So, Danielle started doing her own research, diving into Reddit threads about other people’s experience using the new drug. And then she asked her primary care doctor about it.

Since Danielle was considered obese, her doctor prescribed the semaglutide injection, Ozempic, off-label. That means a doctor prescribes you a drug that has been FDA-approved to treat a different condition than the one you’re using it for. (Doctors say the diabetes drug can be used for weight loss alongside a healthy diet and regular exercise, since it decreases appetite and slows digestion.)

Six months later, Danielle’s down 25 pounds. “I’m somebody who has struggled with binge eating in the past, and who constantly thinks about food, so Ozempic has made it a lot easier to identify when I’m full and not mindlessly eat,” she says. “It’s definitely been really great for me.”

Danielle is not alone. These drugs have been whispered about in elite circles for about a year now, with celebs seemingly “suddenly showing up 25 pounds lighter,” as Andy Cohen pointed out in a tweet in September. “What happens when they stop taking #Ozempic ?????” he asked, making a tongue-in-cheek joke about the drug.

While it’s unclear which, if any, of the rich and famous are actually taking the drug, billionaire Elon Musk was quick to respond to questions on Twitter about his newly ripped physique by crediting “fasting” before adding, “and Wegovy.”

The prescription medications, sold under brand name Wegovy for weight loss, and Ozempic for diabetes (and prescribed off-label for weight loss), have made their way into the mainstream thanks in part to Reddit threads and social media. They’ve even gone viral on TikTok, with #ozempicweightloss racking in 96.9 million views and #wegovy hitting 99.6 million views.

The women interviewed for this article heard about the drug through social or news streams before their own doctors.

Wegovy saw a “huge spike in demand” first, says Sarah Musleh, MD, an endocrinologist who previously worked for Kaiser Permanente in Honolulu, before co-founding Anzara Health, a multi-state concierge endocrinology practice. Now, both drugs are labeled as “currently in a shortage” by the FDA.

And it’s become clear that this popularity hasn’t come without some very real costs.

What is semaglutide?

Injectable semaglutide, called Ozempic or Wegovy depending on its dosage, mimics naturally occurring hormones. The lower 2.0 milligram dose, called Ozempic, is approved by the FDA to treat type 2 diabetes (with a side effect of weight loss). The higher 2.4 milligram dose, Wegovy, is approved and prescribed for long-term weight management. But that hasn’t stopped doctors from prescribing Ozempic off-label to help patients lose weight.

Six months after the FDA approved the once-a-week 2.4mg semaglutide dose, Wegovy, for weight loss in June of 2021, the manufacturer quickly announced a shortage due to “overwhelming demand.”

Not to be deterred, people like Danielle switched to the lower dose Ozempic off-label, despite the fact it’s only approved to treat type 2 diabetes. “It’s obviously the same drug and you’re going to get weight loss associated with it,” explains Joseph Arulandu, MD, an internal medicine physician at Northwest Medical Group who is also board certified in obesity medicine and clinical lipidology.

Ahmet Ergin, MD, an endocrinologist in Florida and the founder of diabetes and lifestyle channel, SugarMD, explains that the drugs are basically identical twins, but the dosage creates “two different individuals” that use different names.

So, the combination of Wegovy shortages and insurance coverage requirements for weight loss medications meant that off-label Ozempic also started to be prescribed for its weight loss benefits, too, says Dr. Musleh. But that also meant those who used Ozempic for diabetes have struggled to get their hands on the drug. Now, both are in a shortage, the FDA says.

Lower doses of Ozempic (the 0.25 mg and 0.5 mg doses) are back in stock, but there’s still a limited supply of the 1 mg dose, and the 2 mg dose is unavailable, according to Dr. Ergin.

Most doses of Wegovy remain on backorder (doctors will often temporarily lower a patient’s dosage to the ones that are still available), but doctors are hoping both drugs will be in better supply by early 2023.

How do Wegovy and Ozempic work?

The medication is made of a molecule called semaglutide that helps the pancreas release the right amount of insulin when your blood sugar is high, says Dr. Arulandu. Semaglutide mimics a gastrointestinal hormone, GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1), which plays an important signaling role during digestion, says Dr. Ergin.

When we eat, food goes through our stomach and intestines, and the GLP-1 hormone’s job is to signal satiety, alerting the pancreas to make insulin that regulates glucose (blood sugar) and breaks down fats and protein.

Studies show that obese people lack these essential gastrointestinal hormones, which skews organ-to-organ communication, says Dr. Musleh. Semaglutide reorganizes and improves the organs’ communication and metabolism, she explains. That’s why it was developed for type 2 diabetes in 2012.

Studies show semaglutide also decreases appetite and slows digestion, says Danielle Belardo, MD, a preventative cardiologist in Newport Beach, California and the co-chair of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology Nutrition Committee.

Within the first week of using Wegovy and Ozempic, people typically lose five to 10 pounds of water weight. And after a few months on the max dose, they lose about 15 percent of their body weight, according to Dr. Ergin.

Total weight loss can range from 5 percent to 30 percent of total body weight. Losing one to two pounds per week is generally considered safe, WH experts say.

Who is a good candidate for the drugs?

Ozempic is technically only FDA-approved for treatment in type 2 diabetics, and Wegovy is only FDA-approved for patients with a body mass index (the measure of body fat based on your height and weight) above 30, or 27 if you have weight-related comorbidities like hypertension (high blood pressure) or hyperlipidemia (high levels of fat concentration in the blood), says Dr. Belardo.

And while the drugs’ needles are the size of an “oversized eyelash,” according to Dr. Musleh, you also have to be willing and able to give yourself an injection once a week.

How does a prescription for off-label use work, exactly?

It’s totally legal for a *licensed* healthcare provider to prescribe Ozempic off-label for weight loss, even if you’re not diabetic. But your doctor must judge whether off-label use is appropriate for your needs, according to the FDA.

So, for someone with a BMI above 30, or who has co-morbidities like sleep apnea or high cholesterol, doctors can prescribe Ozempic off-label since it addresses those issues.

Many patients end up paying out-of-pocket for the medication, since their insurance plans don’t cover weight loss drugs. Ozempic is often cheaper, with a list price around $892 per month compared to Wegovy’s $1,349 per month. The Affordable Care Act and Medicare are not required to cover obesity treatments, and many private insurance providers view obesity as “lifestyle and behavioral” issues. However, some plans do cover weight loss treatments, several doctors said.

“These medicines are expensive, so it’s not like you write the prescription and insurance [automatically] covers them,” says Dr. Musleh. “Sometimes I have to go through a lot of paperwork that really proves a patient needs it.”

If you’re using Ozempic or Wegovy for weight loss, it should be prescribed by a trained physician, stresses Dr. Musleh. Some med spas and online providers try to sell consumers “compounded semaglutide,” where drugs like Wegovy are altered, combined, and mixed to create a “personalized” medication. But these compounds are not regulated (which could make them dangerous), the prescribers are “not trained,” and the semaglutide dose is smaller, Dr. Musleh explains.

What are the risks?

Nausea, cramping, diarrhea, acid reflux, vomiting, and constipation are all common (in addition to suppressed appetite and weight loss), Dr. Musleh says, and the symptoms can range from mild to moderate.

It’s important to work with a doctor and monitor symptoms to ensure correct dosing, Dr. Belardo adds.

So far, Dr. Ergin has not seen major complications in patients, but these drugs are relatively new, and it’s hard to know what effects could look like down the road. “There’s no way of saying long term risks, unless we use the medications for 20 years and then look back retrospectively and find problems,” he says.

What are the side effects?

Twenty-seven-year-old Lynnette B.’s doctor recommended semaglutide after other diets weren’t successful. Wegovy wasn’t covered by her insurance, but Ozempic was. Now down 35 pounds, the experience has been positive, but she’s experienced multiple side effects as her dosage increased.

“Each month I’ve increased the dosage, and once I started 1.0 mg my [nausea] was at its height,” Lynnette says. These days, it’s been hard to fill that dosage because of the shortage, so she went back down to 0.5 mg.

Other users say semaglutide totally kills their appetite. “The day after my first shot, I didn’t feel hungry all day and I had to make myself eat a small dinner in order to not get dizzy,” says Tatyana H., a 50-year-old woman who started on Ozempic six weeks ago for weight loss after seeing how well it worked for a friend.

Initially, the listed side effects made her hesitant to try the drug. “Then I saw my friend who I had not seen since May, and she looked a lot smaller than before,” Tatyana explains to WH in an email. “She told me she was taking Ozempic…That convinced me to try it, too.”

Tatyana has lost six pounds so far.

Although semaglutide is supposed to suppress your appetite, it’s important to keep eating, explains Dr. Arulandu. Women should not consume fewer than 1,200 calories per day, Jonathan Valdez, RDN, owner of Genki Nutrition and spokesperson for New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, previously told WH.

Others reported less aggressive symptoms. “The only side effect I have experienced has been heartburn, which has been pretty easy to manage with just taking Pepcid,” says Danielle K.

In rare cases, Ozempic can cause serious side effects like pancreatitis, hypoglycemia, and an increased risk of thyroid cancer, says Dr. Musleh. The chances are low, but if you have a history of pancreatitis, research shows these drugs should not be prescribed because they act on the pancreas and may cause swelling, she explains.

Novo Nordisk, the company that makes Ozempic, also warns about the risk of medullary thyroid cancer. However, Dr. Musleh says no humans have reported cancer on the drug. Still, if you or a family member have a history of medullary thyroid cancer, then they should not be prescribed, she explains.

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Dr. Musleh also notes that, while you can get hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) when using Ozempic, research shows it’s more common when using the drug with another diabetes or insulin medication.

Finally, dehydration from Ozempic or Wegovy can cause kidney dysfunction or worsen kidney disease if you have a history of kidney complications, so it’s important to hydrate, adds Dr. Ergin.

Is it problematic to use off-label drugs for weight loss?

The answer is complicated. Increased demand for Wegovy meant off-label Ozempic was over-prescribed, which means diabetic patients couldn’t get their necessary medication, says Dr. Ergin.

“We still have limited resources, especially after COVID, and physicians should be more careful [about prescribing Ozempic to non-diabetics],” Dr. Ergin explains. Plus, it’s “a very labor intensive, high-technology medication [to be manufactured], and it needs to be used carefully.”

So, diabetics should be “the first priority,” says Dr. Musleh. “It’s very unfortunate when you need a medication to treat your diabetes and you can’t get your hands on it.”

Should you rely on a drug for weight loss?

While these drugs are effective and doctors say they’re relatively safe, they’re not a permanent cure-all, says Dr. Arulandu.

“I tell all my patients that if after six months you have not changed the way you eat or your activity, you are going to gain weight back,” he explains. Ozempic and Wegovy should be used *in combination* with diet changes or nutritional counseling, exercise, and lifestyle modifications. Dr. Belardo adds that lots of factors contribute to obesity, which means “there is no one-size-fits-all approach.”

These drugs can only serve as kick-starters to eating healthy and exercising. “To rely on a drug purely for weight loss is going to end up in failure,” says Dr. Arulandu. “It has to be the drug plus lifestyle modifications.”

Still, the medications can be beneficial, and it’s a misconception that relying on a drug for weight loss is always dangerous, adds Dr. Belardo, who called these meds a “game changer” for helping patients safely lose weight.

You just have to be willing to pay the price, literally and physically. “My only real fear as I take [Ozempic] long term is that some people go off the medication and then start to gain the weight back,” says Danielle K. “I know a lot of people end up being on Ozempic for long periods of time at a lower maintenance dose, but I don’t know if I can continue to justify paying for it once I meet my goal weight.”

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A healthy road to weight loss: The most effective diet for you

A healthy road to weight loss: The most effective diet for you