Doctors said many young people are landing in emergency rooms due to unsupervised use of Ozempic.
The battle against obesity has long been a public health challenge, prompting the development of various interventions, including lifestyle changes, surgery and pharmacotherapy. Among the pharmacological options, weight loss drugs such as Ozempic (semaglutide) have recently garnered significant attention for their efficacy. However, their rise has not been without controversy, raising important questions about their safety, long-term effects and accessibility. And now, doctors in the UK are warning people who take Ozempic to achieve 'beach body', highlighting hiw harmful it is for the body.
"Drugs including Ozempic and Wegovy should only be used by people prescribed them for obesity or diabetes," Stephen Powis, the national medical director of NHS England, said at a press conference in Manchester, as per a New York Post report.
"I'm worried about reports that people are misusing them - they are not intended as a quick fix for people trying to get 'beach body ready'," the top doctor further said.
Ozempic is a medication primarily used to treat type 2 diabetes by helping to control blood sugar levels. It belongs to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which work by mimicking the hormones that the body naturally produces to stimulate insulin release in response to meals.
Recently, Ozempic has been repurposed for weight loss, marketed under the brand name Wegovy, after clinical trials demonstrated its effectiveness in significantly reducing body weight.
Dr Vicky Price, a consultant in acute medicine and president-elect of the Society for Acute Medicine, said that "young, beautiful girls", are landing in the emergency rooms across the UK while buying Ozempic online.
"Sadly we are seeing serious, life-threatening complications including inflammation of the pancreas gland and alterations in blood salt levels in these patients, who were not aware of the risk they were taking," said Dr Price.
"There is a need for urgent regulation and control of access for weight-loss drugs online to avoid more patients becoming unwell," the expert added.
One girl was treated for starvation ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening condition where the body breaks down muscle to use as fuel after running out of fat.