March 15, 2024 – Summer season is quick approaching, and the pressures of “bikini season” have some younger adults trying to GLP-1 drugs 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 drugs are very hardly ever the primary or finest choice to shed pounds – 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 apply in New York Metropolis, suggests they see their physician for a screening of their baseline metabolic charge and insulin ranges.
“Teenagers often have a quick metabolism, so by seeing their metabolism and insulin ranges, it might give me an thought whether or not they really want the drug,” she mentioned.
As temperatures rise on the highway to summer season, Ozempic and different GLP-1 drugs will be alluring as physique comparisons enhance, in accordance with Wendy Sterling, a registered dietitian and co-author of Elevating Physique Optimistic Teenagers: A Father or mother’s Information to Food plan-Free Dwelling, 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 creating, mentioned 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 folks get the message ‘your physique is flawed and with a view to repair it, right here’s a tablet,’ it will possibly set off a cascade of turning to fast fixes, low vanity, and detrimental physique picture that may take years to undo,” she mentioned.
One other important word: Younger adults ought to be particularly conscious of the dangers of taking GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic, if you find yourself not a professional candidate, in accordance 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 accredited for weight problems in anybody 12 and over. Different choices embrace Mounjaro and Zepbound.
In case you are trying to shed 5 or 10 kilos, or you’re hoping to shed pounds in a particular space of your physique, this isn’t a drugs for you, Hakimi mentioned. He sees such inquiries rather a lot with youthful sufferers, who’ve a decrease BMI and wish to shed pounds in simply a part of the physique (within the stomach space, for instance).
“When you’re not obese, you might want to know that these drugs trigger you to shed pounds in all places,” 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 coach sufferers with decrease BMIs about potential outcomes of those drugs, which embrace extreme uncomfortable side effects within the intestine, like diarrhea, extreme constipation, and even pancreatitis. There’s additionally the price. The medication can price $1,000 a month, and lots 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 resolution. Take 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 you might want to 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 pounds.” She suggests attempting a “weight impartial” strategy, equivalent to stress administration, correct sleep, and listening to starvation and fullness cues to succeed in your distinctive physique objectives.
