6 Ozempic facts that make sense of social media hype

A common diabetes drug has become trendy because of its use as an off-label weight loss drug. From tech moguls to influencers, this drug has become the latest “celebrity secret” for shedding the pounds. 

Ozempic, and a similar medication called Wegovy, are brand names for an injectable medicine called semaglutide. This drug is the synthetic version of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which belongs to a class of medications known as GLP-1 agonists. 

The chemistry explains how Ozempic works and what its main side effects are. GLP-1 is a compound that increases insulin production and lowers blood sugar. After we eat, GLP-1 also signals to the brain a feeling of fullness. Meanwhile, GLP-1 agonists slow down the rate at which food empties out of the stomach, further promoting a feeling of satiety. This prevents cravings and overeating, which can result in weight loss. 

While Ozempic and Wegovy are now lumped together with weight loss fads, these medications are not diet hacks. Instead, they are medications proven to lower weight in certain patient populations. 

Despite this, there is a growing concern that these drugs are misused and overprescribed in individuals who casually use them for aesthetic reasons. There’s concern this type of use is resulting in repercussions like unmanaged side effects and drug shortages. Here are some proven facts and common misconceptions surrounding Ozempic. 

Fact: Ozempic’s side effects include weight loss, but it’s not a weight loss drug

This distinction is important. Ozempic is only approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Type 2 diabetes. It is intended to help diabetes patients control their blood sugar. While it is not a weight loss drug, diabetes patients on Ozempic may lose weight as a side effect because of the way the medication works. Losing weight can improve insulin production and, in turn, benefit some individuals. Meanwhile, Wegovy is FDA-approved for chronic weight management in adults with obesity.

[Related: There’s still a lot we don’t know about the new generation of weight loss pills.]

Swetha Bhat, a primary care physician in the California Bay Area, prescribes Ozempic and Wegovy to patients who meet the criteria. She tells PopSci she has denied requests for semaglutide for weight loss because patients don’t qualify. 

“I can’t prescribe medications to someone who doesn’t meet the FDA indication,” Bhat says. “There are med spa clinics run by dermatologists or plastic surgeons who prescribe semaglutide and that is simply out of scope for their practice.”

Fact: Ozempic and Wegovy are the same medication

Ozempic and Wegovy are two names for the same injectable drug manufactured by Novo Nordisk: semaglutide. But they are approved for different conditions and administered at different dosages.

Ozempic first received FDA approval as a treatment for type 2 diabetes in 2017 at a maximum dosage of 1 milligram once weekly, and was approved again in 2022 for a larger maximum dose of 2.0 milligrams. 

Wegovy received FDA approval in 2021 for adults who are obese or overweight with at least one weight-related condition (high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol). People taking Wegovy start at a dose of 0.25 milligrams once a week and increase the dose every four weeks until they reach the full dose of 2.4 milligrams.

Despite the recent Wegovy approval, there’s already a new drug on the block, which seemingly packs even more punch. In 2022, Eli Lilly launched its first in-class diabetes drug called Mounjaro (generic name tirzepatide), which activates both GLP-1 and GIP receptors for increased blood glucose control. According to the FDA, the average weight loss on Mounjaro at the maximum dose is 12 pounds more than with semaglutide. 

Fact: Ozempic has other side effects, but they’re not the same for everyone

There are some reports that Ozempic use results in a side effect called “Ozempic face,” in which the face becomes noticeably more gaunt and sunken due to the drastic weight loss. 

[Related: Experts rank the raw food diet as the worst of 2023.]

However, the term “Ozempic face” is misleading. It’s not necessarily a side effect of Ozempic, but a general possible side effect of weight loss. Sometimes a large weight reduction can result in excess skin in the face among other places. But not everyone who uses Ozempic will experience this, and it’s not a clinically proven side effect.

The most common side effects of taking GLP-1 agonists are nausea and diarrhea. Another common side effect is lack of appetite, to the point where some patients need to remind themselves to eat.

Fact: The Ozempic shortage was caused by the weight loss fad—and many other reasons 

There are several reasons for the Ozempic shortage. Novo Nordisk stated the shortage was due to issues with manufacturers coupled with the increase in demand for both on-label and off-label use. Pharmacies also tend to not stock Ozempic as it is expensive with poor cost-benefit. 

Meanwhile, social media increased interest in semaglutide among people who wouldn’t qualify for the drug for FDA-approved reasons. For example, a TikTok of Chelsea Handler went viral after she was unknowingly given Ozempic by her “anti-aging doctor.” This is referred to as “off-label” prescribing—when a doctor uses their best judgment to prescribe a medication for which the drug isn’t FDA approved.

[Related: Weight might not be the best way to detect diabetes early.]

Digital health companies, meanwhile, have made it easy for people who want the drug to access it. This has contributed to drug shortages.

A retail pharmacist in Central California, who did not want their name published, spoke about the opposite end of the experience with PopSci. “At first we were getting an influx of patients who were diabetic and we saw how much it helped. Then all of a sudden there was a surge of non-diabetic patients and we could not get semaglutide for our diabetic patients.”

Now, most practitioners have to provide a diabetes diagnosis when prescribing Ozempic for insurance reasons, they explain. “At the same time, the supply chain was also a major contributor to the shortage. For a while, we couldn’t get the drug at all through McKesson [a drug distributor] and our diabetes patients suffered. We had to switch them to Trulicity [the brand name for the drug dulaglutide] and even that went out of stock for a while.”

Fact: Ozempic is made from lizard lips (kind of)

In a recent episode of the pop culture podcast “Psychobabble,” hosted by Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl, the duo giggled in wonderment after reading on Twitter that Ozempic was made from “Gila monster spit.” 

GLP-1 agonists are derived from the venomous saliva of the Gila monster, a giant lizard that lives in US and Mexican deserts. In 1990, an endocrinologist named John Eng researched both the toxic and nontoxic chemicals produced by the species for medicinal use. He discovered that Gila monsters went long periods without eating and slowed down their metabolism while maintaining constant blood sugar levels. 

The peptide that allows them to do this is called Exendin-4 and is strikingly similar in both structure and function to human GLP-1. So Exendin-4 was derived to make the first synthetic GLP-1 drug, called Exenatide.

Fact: Ozempic can be a life-changing medication for the right patients

GLP-1 agonists, including Ozempic, continuously prove to be powerful blood glucose and weight-lowering medicines. They are also one of the few classes of diabetes drugs that have a significant clinical benefit in patients with a cardiovascular disease history and chronic kidney disease, which are risk factors for diabetes. 

With so many headlines and news outlets, the amount of information the average individual has to filter through can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to health. The Ozempic craze is a fantastic example of pop culture amplifying potentially misleading information. It is important to weed out the fact from fodder to avoid an unwarranted bias against a possible life-saving medication for the right candidate.