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 knowledge reveals that weight problems is skyrocketing amongst U.S. teenagers and younger adults, Ozempic and different GLP-1 drugs are very hardly ever the primary or finest choice to shed extra pounds – particularly for individuals who don’t have weight problems or associated situations, consultants say. 

Earlier than leaping to those drugs, teenagers ought to ensure 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 apply 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 could give me an thought whether or not they really need the drug,” she mentioned. 

As temperatures rise on the street to summer season, Ozempic and different GLP-1 drugs could be alluring as physique comparisons enhance, in keeping with Wendy Sterling, a registered dietitian and co-author of Elevating Physique Constructive Teenagers: A Mum or dad’s Information to Weight loss plan-Free Residing, Train, and Physique Picture. Younger individuals must be hyper conscious of managing such ideas, she mentioned. 

This can be a notably essential 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 Diet & Wellness, the place she focuses on areas surrounding younger adults and physique picture.

“If younger individuals get the message ‘your physique is fallacious and with a purpose to repair it, right here’s a capsule,’ it may 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 word: Younger adults must be particularly conscious of the dangers of taking GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic, when you’re not a certified candidate, in keeping with 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 authorised 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’re hoping to shed extra pounds in a particular space of your physique, this isn’t a medicine for you, Hakimi mentioned. He sees such inquiries so much with youthful sufferers, who’ve a decrease BMI and want to shed extra pounds in simply a part of the physique (within the stomach space, for instance). 

“In the event you’re not obese, it is advisable know that these drugs trigger you to shed extra pounds all over the place,” Hakimi mentioned. “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 mentioned 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 medication can price $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 remedy, 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’re following, steered Sterling. Look at how these accounts make you’re feeling and whether or not you’re feeling impressed vs. feeling like it is advisable change one thing about your self.

“A lot of what we see on-line is unrealistic,” she mentioned. “We’re all inundated with food regimen tradition, and most are determined for fast methods to shed extra pounds.” She suggests making an attempt a “weight impartial” method, corresponding to stress administration, correct sleep, and listening to starvation and fullness cues to succeed in your distinctive physique objectives. 



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