March 15, 2024 – Summer time is quick approaching, and the pressures of “bikini season” have some younger adults seeking to GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic to shed weight. And whereas information reveals that weight problems is skyrocketing amongst U.S. teenagers and younger adults, Ozempic and different GLP-1 drugs are very not often the primary or greatest choice to reduce weight – particularly for many who don’t have weight problems or associated circumstances, consultants say.
Earlier than leaping to those drugs, teenagers ought to ensure that they’re consuming nutritious meals and getting sufficient train. However for teenagers who’re obese (BMI over 25) or overweight (BMI 30 or extra),Sue Decotiis, MD, a triple board-certified medical weight reduction physician who runs a non-public observe in New York Metropolis, suggests they see their physician for a screening of their baseline metabolic price and insulin ranges.
“Teenagers normally have a quick metabolism, so by seeing their metabolism and insulin ranges, it will give me an concept whether or not they really need the drug,” she stated.
As temperatures rise on the highway to summer time, Ozempic and different GLP-1 drugs may be alluring as physique comparisons improve, in response to Wendy Sterling, a registered dietitian and co-author of Elevating Physique Constructive Teenagers: A Mum or dad’s Information to Food plan-Free Dwelling, Train, and Physique Picture. Younger individuals needs to be hyper conscious of managing such ideas, she stated.
This can be a notably vital message for these 18 to 24 years of age, whose brains are nonetheless rising and creating, stated Lexy Penney, a registered dietitian and proprietor of Lexy Penney Vitamin & Wellness, the place she makes a speciality of areas surrounding younger adults and physique picture.
“If younger individuals get the message ‘your physique is improper and with the intention to repair it, right here’s a tablet,’ it might probably set off a cascade of turning to fast fixes, low vanity, and destructive physique picture that may take years to undo,” she stated.
One other essential be aware: Younger adults needs to be particularly conscious of the dangers of taking GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic, if you end up not a certified candidate, in response to 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 accepted for weight problems in anybody 12 and over. Different choices embody Mounjaro and Zepbound.
In case you are seeking to shed 5 or 10 kilos, or you might be hoping to reduce weight in a selected space of your physique, this isn’t a drugs for you, Hakimi stated. He sees such inquiries lots with youthful sufferers, who’ve a decrease BMI and want to reduce weight in simply a part of the physique (within the stomach space, for instance).
“Should you’re not obese, it’s worthwhile to know that these drugs trigger you to reduce weight in all places,” Hakimi stated. “These drugs 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 stated medical doctors have an obligation to teach sufferers with decrease BMIs about potential outcomes of those drugs, which embody extreme negative effects within the intestine, like diarrhea, extreme constipation, and even pancreatitis. There’s additionally the fee. The medicine 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 drugs.
In case you are weighing the choice of taking a GLP-1 medicine, you will need to ask your self what’s driving your potential determination. Have a look at your social media use and take account of who you might be 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 stated. “We’re all inundated with weight loss program tradition, and most are determined for fast methods to reduce weight.” She suggests attempting a “weight impartial” strategy, akin to stress administration, correct sleep, and listening to starvation and fullness cues to succeed in your distinctive physique targets.