Ozempic: Weight loss isn’t just about eating less.
My gosh the flurry around Ozempic and its weight loss sister drugs has reached blizzardy proportions. And with it, the judgement around who qualifies and deserves to get this kind of support is swirling.
Excuse me while I weigh in
Prescribing medications like Ozempic for weight loss is a conversation between a patient and their healthcare provider. Not between you and Twitter. Not between you and the Tik Tok.
No shame. No judgement.
These are powerful and useful medications. And they are not just appetite suppressants either. Here comes the science.
‘Semaglutide is a selective glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist that increases glucose-dependent insulin secretion, decreases inappropriate glucagon secretion, slows gastric emptying; also acts in the areas of the brain involved in regulation of appetite and caloric intake.’
In other words, it does a whole lot of good in different areas of the body that can all play a role in why our metabolism doesn’t respond effectively to lifestyle changes like exercise and ‘eating healthy’. They have far reaching consequences for our health.
We have to remember too that the thresholds we use to decide if someone is overweight or obese vary between populations.
One person’s BMI of 24 is another person’s BMI of 30. Health consequences are not equal across populations. A person from India might have the same risk of a heart attack as a person from Lithuania, even when the Indian weighs 30 lbs less than her European counterpart.
Privilege exists everywhere, and body composition is not an exception.
We can’t apply white standards to everyone. It’s not fair. And ethnic differences are just the tip of the iceberg.
Stress impacts our metabolism differently.
Perimenopause impacts our metabolism differently.
Stress impacts us differently.
Everything affects us differently.
Stress in the world at the mo is aplenty and it’s nice to know we have some agents that can help us cope with its affects on us and our bodies.
Despite some people’s best efforts they cannot lose weight. They cannot reduce their cholesterol. They cannot change their blood sugar profile. They cannot change their inflammation. They cannot change with some external help.
I don’t want to discriminate against this person and deny them a useful tool that can change their life for the better.
Denying someone access to therapies to lose weight, if they want to, for themselves, is a problem in and of itself.
Have this conversation with your Mint doc. We are happy to have it with you.
