Does she do it or not?
Only her doctor knows for sure.
Have you noticed that some of your friends and acquaintances seem slimmer lately? One of my neighbors came out of winter hibernation with a face that went from round to bony. At a recent work-related event, two co-workers speculated about a third’s physical transformation: “She’s rake,” said one. “Must be Ozempic,” said the other.
It’s not just women who use Ozempic as a weight loss drug, but I’m sure they far outnumber men since we women have always been obsessed with our weight. I’d also wager that middle-aged women, for whom piling on the pounds after menopause is pretty much inevitable, are especially intrigued by Ozempic’s potential to help them get back into their younger shape.
Women’s obsession with weight also continues into old age. Just ask Pat Dickinson, an 85-year-old retired Hamilton childhood educator who described herself as “chubby” in her youth and who, despite losing 40 pounds decades ago, admits to still being concerned about her size. She and her 95-year-old sister will even compare their weight each at times. “I look in the mirror more than I should,” says Dickinson. “I don’t think it ever ends for women.”
She’s right. This is not the case. Blame oppressive cultural beauty standards that cause women to aspire to an unattainable physical “ideal” and internalize the message that every inch of their body, from their hairline to the tips of their toes to the tips of their eyelashes , and, more particularly, the number on the scale, needs to be improved. Following fad diets, whether it’s Atkins, Keto, South Beach or Ayds Reducing Plan Candy (was someone else’s mom on that one? ) Has been a fixation since Victorian times when women swallowed tapeworm pills that hatched in their stomachs so they could fit into fashions that demanded a short stature.
For every perceived flaw in a woman’s body, there is a solution that costs money. There is no Sephora for men. Or Spanx for that matter. Women’s insecurities about their looks make corporations rich.
Drugmaker Novo Nordisk is certainly getting richer thanks to Ozempic. Its value has doubled in two years to reach 300 billion dollars. Demand has skyrocketed thanks to viral posts on TikTok from people showing off their gradual weight loss (hashtag #Ozempic has 800 million views) and speculation that it’s responsible for suddenly slim celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Mindy Kaling and Adele.
The drug helps people with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar and reduce their risk of heart disease, but it is also used by those who want to lose weight as one of its side effects is rapid fat loss. . (Novo Nordisk has reissued the drug with a specific indication for weight loss as Wegovy, but it is currently not available in Canada due to supply issues).
Ozempic is being hailed as a miracle drug and a possible solution to the global epidemic of diabetes and obesity. Some 12 million Canadians have diabetes or prediabetes and 17 million are obese or overweight. Both conditions reduce life expectancy and pose a high risk of heart disease and stroke. An effective new treatment could save the healthcare system billions of dollars and lead to a happier, healthier life.
The problem is people who take it for vanity, not health, and doctors who prescribe it to patients who may need solutions other than an expensive drug costing hundreds of dollars a month (if you don’t have insurance) that must be taken out for the rest of your life. (If you go off the drug, you risk gaining all the weight back, and more. Plus-size model and influencer Remi Bader, 27, who has more than two million followers on TikTok, says his binge eating is worsened after she left the drug and she gained double the pounds she lost.)
Even though Ozempic has not been approved by Health Canada for weight loss, doctors can prescribe it “off label” to people interested in its weight loss benefits, leading to drug shortages for sufferers. of diabetes.
My friend Jennifer Purdie, a retired accountant in her 60s who has long struggled with her weight, traces her sugar addiction back to her childhood when she started using sweets to calm herself down due to a stressful home life. . “My grandfather left us his collection of coins when he died. I was 10 the first time I stole a silver dollar to buy candy.
Jennifer had bariatric surgery several years ago and after gaining weight she went to see her doctor. “The first thing he came up with was Ozempic.” She chose not to take it due to its serious potential side effects, such as thyroid tumors and cancer, and common side effects, including nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, and abdominal pain. “I think referring to a nutritionist or psychotherapist first would have been better.”
Dr. Karen Kumar, a professor of medicine at McMaster University and chief medical officer of Body Brave, Hamilton’s eating disorder (ED) program, worries about the tendency for women like Jennifer to see themselves more in addition prescribing weight-loss drugs while their possible eating disorders and underlying psychological issues are not being treated.
One million Canadians (mostly women) are diagnosed with ED, the mental illness with the highest mortality rate (between 10 and 15% of those affected will die from the disease). Drugs like Ozempic can be catnip for someone desperate to lose weight. “There is almost no discussion about the dangers of this drug for erectile dysfunction,” says Dr. Kumar. “Most doctors are not trained in emergencies and do not screen. They may not realize that the person in front of them has an emergency problem – you can’t tell if someone is unwell by just measuring their weight. If you prescribe Ozempic to someone who has erectile dysfunction or is prone to erectile dysfunction, it is very likely to trigger harmful thoughts and behaviors.
It is also concerning that diet drugs have such a long and terrible history when it comes to their safety profiles, dating back to the 1930s, when diet pills containing the appetite suppressant amphetamine began to be prescribed with abandon. reckless. In 1997, Fen-Phen was taken off the market because it caused heart valve problems. In 2004, dietary supplements containing ephedra were banned after these products caused death. In 2010, after a decade on the market, Merida was pulled due to the risk of heart attack and stroke. As, recently in 2020, another weight loss drug, Belviq, was withdrawn due to its cancer risk.
Fears about the long-term effects of Ozempic prompted some people, like another woman I know who didn’t want her name used, a 70-year-old psychotherapist from Toronto, to stop taking the drug. Her psychiatrist prescribed it after she gained weight while taking antidepressants. She lost 30 pounds in six months, but the nausea and acid reflux were too much for her stomach – and she realized she didn’t want to take the drug for life. “Do we really know enough about Ozempic? she asks. “I didn’t want to be complicit in my own poor health.”
Most people are in a losing battle when it comes to losing weight. This is because weight gain with age is entirely normal, not something to pathologize. Epidemiologists observe that the average person typically gains one to two pounds per year from early adulthood through middle age due to factors such as hormonal changes and declining muscle mass. That’s a potential 40 pounds between ages 20 and 60.
Dr Kumar herself says she “faithfully” gained a pound a year from age 25 to 65. “I’m fine with it”
If only more of us could have his attitude. How would we feel if we kissed our bellies, grateful for its softness, that it could carry life, that we were privileged to feel the sensation of a full stomach, that those extra pounds could be a cushion to ward off disease thinness?
A full life is not measured by a flat stomach. If you’re over 50, you’ll never look like you did in your 20s. And why bother trying? It’s as futile as wanting to look young again.
Speaking of which, another side effect of Ozempic is facial aging and sagging caused by rapid weight loss, leading to the condition known as “Ozempic face”. Of course, there are plenty of remedies for this too, from Botox and dermal fillers to fat grafting and cheek implants. When it comes to “fixing” what’s wrong with women’s bodies, there’s no end to for-profit “improvements.”
The woman who started and then quit Ozempic has been trying for 50 years to “fix” her body, dating back to the age of 16 and weighing 96 pounds. “At the time, I was on the verge of being anorexic.” Now, she says, her goal in her later years will be “to thrive and be vital, not to lose weight, because a lot of that is beyond our control.”
She has an 18 month old granddaughter. “When I look at her and consider the food culture that’s had such an impact on me, I’m like, ‘I don’t wish any of this on you.'”
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