Doctors call Wegovy’s new weight loss pill\u00a0a game changer in the fight against obesity, but some experts are urging patients to be cautious. <\/p>\n
Just weeks after hitting the market, nearly 200,000 people are already taking the Wegovy pill, according to the company. <\/p>\n
While the pill offers convenience \u2014 and a lower price point than injectable semaglutides \u2014 its rapid rise in popularity has some doctors urging caution.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe efficacy is about the same. It’s about 15% weight loss over a year,\u201d said Dr. Nidhi Kansal, an Internal Medicine & Obesity Medicine specialist with Northwestern.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also more affordable, explains Dr Kansal. Without insurance, the Wegovy pill starts at about $150 a month depending on the dose, which is less than the once-weekly injections the company also offers. <\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully with insurance, it’s $25 a month,\u201d said Kansal.<\/p>\n
While the medication has changed form, Kansal it\u2019s still intended only for people who meet specific health criteria for weight loss treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cBody mass index over 30, or body mass index over 27, plus a weight-related health issue. That would be something like pre-diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver, just to name a few,\u201d said Kansal.<\/p>\n
Open almost any social media app and you\u2019re likely to encounter ads from companies like Willow Health promoting compounded versions of GLP\u20111 medications. In one widely circulated ad, a woman claims she \u201calways thought you had to be obese to start a GLP\u20111 \u2014 but then I found Willow.\u201d Another video goes further, suggesting that \u201cif you\u2019re looking to lose some weight, even just a few pounds,\u201d Willow\u2019s GLP\u20111 product is an easy solution.<\/p>\n
These ads promise quick results and effortless weight loss, but obesity medicine specialists warn that the shortcuts being promoted online can lead consumers down a dangerous path.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can lower your blood sugar. And if you don’t have pre-diabetes, diabetes, that can sometimes be dangerous. Losing the weight fast is not always ideal for your metabolism or your brain chemistry and then if you try to go off the drug \u2026most studies have shown rapid weight regain. So it’s really not meant to be a short term drug,\u201d said Kansal.<\/p>\n
Willow health has come under heavy fire from the Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division and Novo Nordisk<\/a>\u00a0– the maker of Ozempic and the Wegovy pill- over unproven claims about its compounded semaglutide products, and has been reported to federal regulators \u2014 including the FDA\u2014 for possible action.<\/p>\n