Oprah Winfrey spent her life fighting against being overweight, without much success. So when she lost almost 20 pounds, the world wanted to know how she did it. After some speculation, the presenter admitted that she had won the battle against being overweight with the help of an ally.
In the documentary An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolutionthe presenter confessed to having lost practically 20 kilos with the help of Ozempic, which caused sales of the drug to double.
“Semaglutide (name of the active ingredient in Ozempic) is a medication from the GLP-1 agonist class used to treat people with type 2 diabetes. It acts through multiple mechanisms, promoting a reduction in appetite, weight loss and improved control of blood sugar levels. glycemia”, reveals João Sérgio Neves, endocrinologist and general secretary of the Portuguese Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (SPEDM).
João Sérgio Neves, endocrinologist and general secretary of the Portuguese Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (SPEDM)
The medicine became popular for its impact on weight loss. “The fact that it has allowed many people with diabetes who, for many years, tried to lose weight without success, to achieve important weight loss results has made this medicine particularly popular”, highlights João Sérgio Neves.
How does it help with weight loss?
“Ozempic has several effects that contribute to weight loss and diabetes control, namely regulating insulin and blood glucose (sugar). It also promotes weight loss, delaying stomach emptying and increasing the feeling of satiety”, reveals Miguel Afonso, gastroenterologist and clinical director of Gastroclinic.
According to the expert, “a study showed a weight loss of 15% of body weight over more than a year”, but warns that “this weight loss will have to be accompanied by a diet and nutritional monitoring”.
Miguel Afonso, gastroenterologist and clinical director of Gastroclinic
Regarding the potential health risks associated with rapid weight loss, João Sérgio Neves assures that Ozempic “is a drug with a favorable safety profile. It can be associated with nausea and vomiting, with serious adverse effects being rare”. Treatment in patients at high cardiovascular risk “reduces the risk of serious cardiovascular diseases, such as acute myocardial infarction and stroke”.
I don’t have diabetes. Can I buy the medicine?
The answer is no. Despite the high demand, in Portugal the medicine “can only be purchased with a prescription and is only available for patients with type 2 diabetes, that is, diabetes associated with obesity”, explains Miguel Afonso, who also draws attention to the risk of habituation. “We found that patients who take this medication for long periods (more than three months) experience a decrease in its effectiveness in controlling weight.”
João Sérgio Neves adds that therapy with Ozempic “must always be prescribed by a doctor and requires a prior assessment of the indications for its use, and its use must always be carried out under medical supervision”.
Although the use of Ozempic is not associated with risks in people without diabetes, “it is not within the indications for use of the medicine”, emphasizes João Sérgio Neves, who recalls that there is “another formulation of semaglutide (Wegovy) that is already approved by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of obesity, but it is not yet available in Portugal”.
Does it help you sleep better?
Regarding this doubt, the endocrinologist recalls that Ozempic, like other medications that promote weight loss, “induces an improvement in sleep apnea by reversing part of the adverse effects that obesity has on this pathology”.
Taking into account the strong relationship between obesity and sleep apnea, “weight loss with semaglutide or other interventions reduces the adverse impact of cervical adipose tissue (fat) on the airway, thus improving sleep apnea.”
How to achieve effective and consistent weight loss?
João Sérgio Neves reminds us that “obesity is a chronic, complex, and recurrent disease, so its treatment must always be based on the best scientific evidence and must include behavioral modifications with a healthy eating pattern and regular physical activity”. In many cases, the use of drugs approved for the treatment of obesity “is a necessary therapeutic option” and in situations of more severe obesity “bariatric surgery may be indicated”.
As a chronic disease, “monitoring by multidisciplinary teams that include endocrinologists, nutritionists, psychologists, nurses, other medical specialties and, when indicated, bariatric surgeons, allows for an effective and consistent approach”, recalls the general secretary of SPEDM.
For João Sérgio Neves, “reducing the stigma related to obesity by the community, by health professionals and by people living with obesity themselves, should be a priority to allow more people with obesity to seek professional help for a disease with a number growing number of effective interventions that promote clear benefits for health and well-being”.
