Millions across the world are using Ozempic, Mounjaro and similar drugs to lose weight, but is it ‘cheating’?
A doctor has slammed the idea that people who don’t lose weight through normal means (healthy eating and exercise) are taking the easy way out – but says only a select group should be doing the weight loss injections.
Doctor says Ozempic is not ‘cheating’
“Ozempic is not intended for widespread, casual use but equally, weight loss no matter how it’s achieved isn’t ‘cheating’,” Dr. Karan Rajan said on TikTok.
He explained that obesity is heavily influenced by a number of factors including genetics, psychology, your microbiome, food accessibility, finances and other chronic conditions. So, losing weight differs for everyone.
Being overweight is a metabolic condition that increases a person’s risk of diabetes, cancers and cardiovascular disease, therefore a tool that can improve weight-related health conditions, prevent diabetes and lower someone’s risk of heart disease is not cheating.
“We don’t tell people who need statins to treat high cholesterol or medication to manage high blood pressure that they are cheating or taking the easy way out,” he said.
Dr. Rajan claimed that the only cheat is the food industry and food policy, which is causing unhealthy habits.
Not everyone should take it
However, that doesn’t mean everyone should be taking the weight loss drug.
“Ozempic is not intended for someone using it short term to just lose a few pounds, nor is it for every single person with obesity,” Dr. Rajan continued.
Ozempic can have side effects and a person must alter their “underlying lifestyle behaviors” for it to be truly effective. If a person doesn’t change their lifestyle habits, studies have shown they are likely to regain the weight lost.
However, the doctor said that in carefully selected groups of people, the injections can be a “game changer” in preventing dangerous metabolic conditions.
Metabolic syndrome refers to a group of health problems that put you at risk of type 2 diabetes or affect your heart or blood vessels, the NHS explains. You are more likely to it if you are living with obesity, eat a diet high in saturated fat, do not exercise much, smoke and drink a lot of alcohol.
Dr. Karan Rangarajan (MRCS, MBBS, BSc), better known online as Dr. Karan Rajan, is a surgeon working for the NHS. He gained his medical degree from Imperial College London and is also a lecturer at the University of Sunderland.
