What happens when you stop taking Ozempic after celebrities speak out about drug
Kya Buller
Featured Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
following the popularisation of using Ozempic to aid weight loss, one major question people have been left wondering is exactly what happens when a person decides to stop.
At this point, most of Hollywood have been accused of using the drug to lose a few pounds - with some even speaking out about it.
The drug, which was initially created for use by diabetics, soared in popularity after its effectiveness for losing weight was uncovered.
The likes of James Corden and Rebel Wilson have come forward about their usage of the controversial injectable.
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In case you didn't know - it's an injection that can be placed into your thigh, abdomen, or upper arm, once a week.
It's otherwise known as a GLP-1 medication, which works by mimicking the hormone released from the digestive tract which lowers blood sugar and makes you feel more full.
Paired with exercise, it can lead to dramatic weight loss.
What happens when you stop taking it?
As per the BBC, the weight is usually regained.
They explained: "Various studies have attempted to examine this particular question, and all seem to point to the same answer – the pounds swiftly pile back on.
"In one trial, around 800 people received weekly semaglutide injections accompanied by dietary adjustments, a prescribed exercise regime and psychological counselling, all of which helped them to lose nearly 11% of their starting weight over four months.
"But when a third of the participants were subsequently switched to a placebo injection for another year, they regained 7% of the lost weight."
Alex Miras, a clinical professor of medicine at Ulster University, said: "There will be a small proportion of people, 10% maximum, that are able to maintain [all] the weight they've lost.
"People put most of it back on in the first three to six months."
Dr W. Scott Butsch, an Obesity medicine specialist spoke to the Cleveland Clinic to explain why the drug works for weight loss.
Dr Butsch believes Ozempic can be useful and shouldn't be demonised as it is an effective remedy for obesity.
He said: "Obesity isn’t a behavioural problem.
"It’s not managed by just eating less or exercising more.
"Obesity is a complex, metabolic disease.
"It’s a dysfunction of the normal pathways that regulate our body weight or, more specifically, our body fat.
"Taking anti-obesity medications like Ozempic, may change your body’s reaction to food intake and weight loss."
He added: "These medications allow your body to seek a lower weight range, and this is not solely related to reducing your food intake."