A Look at the Ozempic Craze
How does a weight-loss drug’s surging popularity fit in the “body positive’ era?
Another day, another quick-fix weight loss solution. Ozempic is a diabetes treatment drug, now pitched as a weight-loss miracle by celebrities. On TikTok, people are celebrating their surprising success allegedly due to the injection, with #Ozempic raking in millions of views. The drug is flying off the shelves, possibly foretelling a second-coming of the “thin is in” craze.
The internet is no stranger to fad diets, with every variation of Keto, Atkins, and “75 hard” achieving virality and being pushed on the public shortly after. The Ozempic brand Wegovy is now a celebrity in its own right. Rumors have circulated of high-profile celebrities such as Julia Fox, which she later denied, Andy Cohen, Khloe Kardashian, and others taking the weekly injections.
@annistonleeper #ozempic #ozempicweightloss ♬ LIZZO USED MY SOUND - fizzarolli
So, how does this new “miracle cure” work? In Type 2 diabetes, the semaglutide inside Ozempic lowers blood sugar and limits appetite, making people feel fuller for longer. Designed for people with diabetes or facing obesity, the drug and its side effects haven’t been fully examined yet for the general population. Now, the Food and Drug Administration classified the drug as in “short supply”, causing backorders for those who are professionally prescribed.
“As a diabetic who needs Ozempic, this really pisses me off,” said one commenter under a #Ozempic video.
@girl_on_couch Drop Ozempic plugs in comments…
♬ original sound - Girl On Couch
A troubling time in the body positivity movement, the recent uptick of glamorized, unnatural celebrity weight-loss transformations sets back the progress made. People are now risking unknown side-effects and putting their health on the line all for the sake of thinness. If an “easy fix” exists at our finger-tips for weight loss, will thinness be an omnipresent beauty standard for years to come?
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