Diabetes drug, or weight-loss medication?

In recent years, the number of Americans using diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro has grown in the same way that a frog moves – by leaps and bounds. But that’s not due to a sudden increase in diabetes cases. Instead, millions – including Elon Musk, Chelsea Handler, and several other celebrities – have started using the drugs to help them lose weight.

💊 A deeper dive… The main ingredient in both treatments, called semaglutide, was initially approved by the FDA in 2017 to treat Type 2 diabetes. Studies showed it helped control high blood-sugar levels, and reduced the risk of heart problems in prescribed patients.

A few years later, further research revealed weekly doses of semaglutide can also help obese patients lose 15% of their body weight on average over a 16-month period (versus ~2% for a placebo). These findings prompted the FDA to approve semaglutide’s use for weight loss under a separate brand called Wegovy in 2021.

• In 2019, US doctors prescribed semaglutide-based treatments for weight loss around 230,000 times, per analytics firm Komodo Health.
• Three years later, that number came in at over 5 million, representing a ~2,100% increase. In fact, the drugs have become so popular among people seeking to lose weight that they’re currently in short supply for people with diabetes, per the FDA.

💰 The cost: Besides potential side effects, Wegovy’s $1,400/month price tag isn’t typically covered by insurance. And when it comes to semaglutide, it appears that consistency is key – a recent peer-reviewed study found that within a year of stopping the medicine, most people had gained back a majority of the weight they previously lost.