March 15, 2024 – Summer time is quick approaching, and the pressures of “bikini season” have some younger adults seeking to GLP-1 medicines like Ozempic to shed weight. And whereas knowledge exhibits that weight problems is skyrocketing amongst U.S. teenagers and younger adults, Ozempic and different GLP-1 medicines are very not often the primary or greatest choice to shed weight – particularly for many who don’t have weight problems or associated circumstances, consultants say.
Earlier than leaping to those medicines, teenagers ought to make sure that they’re consuming nutritious meals and getting sufficient train. However for teenagers who’re chubby (BMI over 25) or overweight (BMI 30 or extra),Sue Decotiis, MD, a triple board-certified medical weight reduction physician who runs a personal follow in New York Metropolis, suggests they see their physician for a screening of their baseline metabolic price and insulin ranges.
“Teenagers often have a quick metabolism, so by seeing their metabolism and insulin ranges, it might give me an concept whether or not they really want the drug,” she mentioned.
As temperatures rise on the street to summer time, Ozempic and different GLP-1 medicines might be alluring as physique comparisons improve, based on Wendy Sterling, a registered dietitian and co-author of Elevating Physique Optimistic Teenagers: A Father or mother’s Information to Weight loss program-Free Residing, Train, and Physique Picture. Younger folks ought to be hyper conscious of managing such ideas, she mentioned.
It is a significantly necessary message for these 18 to 24 years of age, whose brains are nonetheless rising and growing, mentioned Lexy Penney, a registered dietitian and proprietor of Lexy Penney Vitamin & Wellness, the place she focuses on areas surrounding younger adults and physique picture.
“If younger folks get the message ‘your physique is flawed and in an effort to repair it, right here’s a tablet,’ it might set off a cascade of turning to fast fixes, low vanity, and adverse physique picture that may take years to undo,” she mentioned.
One other vital be aware: Younger adults ought to be particularly conscious of the dangers of taking GLP-1 medicines, like Ozempic, if you find yourself not a certified candidate, based on Michael Hakimi, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon and proprietor of Hakimi Plastic Surgical procedure in Beverly Hills.
Ozempic is FDA-approved for treating diabetes, whereas its sister drug, Wegovy, is authorized for weight problems in anybody 12 and over. Different choices embrace Mounjaro and Zepbound.
If you’re seeking to shed 5 or 10 kilos, or you’re hoping to shed weight in a particular space of your physique, this isn’t a drugs for you, Hakimi mentioned. He sees such inquiries so much with youthful sufferers, who’ve a decrease BMI and need to shed weight in simply a part of the physique (within the stomach space, for instance).
“If you happen to’re not chubby, it’s worthwhile to know that these medicines trigger you to shed weight in all places,” Hakimi mentioned. “These medicines may even make you look older to some extent in the event that they’re abused or misused by sufferers that may’t afford to lose extra weight of their face or of their buttocks, for instance.”
Hakimi mentioned medical doctors have an obligation to teach sufferers with decrease BMIs about potential outcomes of those medicines, which embrace extreme uncomfortable side effects within the intestine, like diarrhea, extreme constipation, and even pancreatitis. There’s additionally the fee. The medication can value $1,000 a month, and plenty of insurers will not cowl them. Plus, research have proven that many individuals regain weight in the event that they cease taking the medicines.
If you’re weighing the choice of taking a GLP-1 remedy, it is very important ask your self what’s driving your potential determination. Have a look at your social media use and take account of who you’re following, recommended Sterling. Look at how these accounts make you’re feeling and whether or not you’re feeling impressed vs. feeling like it’s worthwhile to change one thing about your self.
“A lot of what we see on-line is unrealistic,” she mentioned. “We’re all inundated with weight loss plan tradition, and most are determined for fast methods to shed weight.” She suggests making an attempt a “weight impartial” method, equivalent to stress administration, correct sleep, and listening to starvation and fullness cues to succeed in your distinctive physique targets.