Doctors worried about latest weight loss trend on social media
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Doctors are issuing a warning about the latest social media trend centering on weight loss.
The latest trend involves injectables, and doctors say when taken incorrectly, what is supposed to be a weight loss solution can just add more problems.
Dr. George Eid, the chair of the Bariatric & Metabolic Institute at Allegheny Health Network, said his office has been full of calls from people who want prescriptions for Ozempic or Wegovy. He said patients can lose about 15 percent of their weight by taking them.
Manufactured by the same company, Ozempic is promoted for diabetes, while Wegovy is promoted for weight loss. Both share the same chemical that aids in weight loss.
Eid said the prescribing of these drugs has not been well controlled, and he wants people to know they are not for everybody.
"It has to be used in the right setting. I hate it to be used the way it's being used," he said. "It has to be done in the proper, not just because somebody has to fit in smaller pants or a dress."
Production ramped back up at the beginning of the year, but when high demand and supply chain issues caused a Wegovy shortage last year, Eid said people were somehow getting access to the chemical that makes the medications work and taking that instead.
Without proper monitoring, Eid said these medications can have serious health implications.
"Some patients, if you are not careful, can have muscle mass loss, which is not good. This is why it's important to watch the protein intake and exercise to maintain the muscle mass," Eid said.