ORBesides being a place to meet and exchange opinions and points of view, TikTok – as well as many of the popular social platforms today – it can be a very dangerous place to convey the wrong messages. There have been many trends that have fueled in recent years violence And disrespectful behavior. And now, from America, a new one has arrived. Indeed, many people are using (improperly) the anti-diabetes drug Ozempic to lose weight. And it is a very dangerous practice for health.
Ozempic and the potential side effects
The medicine in question, the Ozempic, it has been approved by the EMA for the treatment of diabetes. But the its use for weight loss is formally incorrect and potentially very dangerous because the same semaglutide with a different name (just because it uses an injector with differently fragmented doses) in the US is already approved for weight loss and in Europe it will be soon. Which the clips posted on TikTok want to hide. The hashtag #Ozempic, testimony to the virality of the trend, has been used 350 million times. To better understand the seriousness of what is happening overseas and which, in reality, has already found many matches also in our continent, we contacted Dr. Giulio FrontinoSpecialist in Pediatrics, Endocrinology and Pediatric Diabetology at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan.
“Ozempic (one of the trade names of the semaglutide molecule) belongs to the class of GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA). It is a class to which various hypoglycemic drugs belong, mainly indicated for type 2 diabetes mellitus and in some cases for the treatment of obesity », he began.
This drug – in Italy sold only on prescription – has potential side effects. “Common such as gastrointestinal (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrheal discharges up to possible dehydration) but also rare but more severe such as risk of pancreatitis (fatal cases have also been described) e possible association with medullary thyroid carcinoma (described in studies on the animal model, but a correlation that cannot be excluded in humans) “.
Ozempic? It is indicated only in adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus
As reminds a iO Woman Dr. Frontino, «according to the most recent national and international guidelines Ozempic is indicated only in adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus“.
And the link with obesity? “In some European countries and the USA, other formulations of GLP-1RA are indicated, in addition to a healthy diet and physical activity, to promoting body weight management in adult patients: obese (with a body mass index – BMI – of 30 or more), overweight (BMI between 27 and 30) and with weight-related complications such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, high blood pressure or obstructive sleep apnea ‘.
Thus, «the only GLP-1RA that has the indication in obese adolescents (from the age of 12 years) is the Liraglutide (with the trade name of Saxenda), but always in addition to an adequate lifestyle (healthy diet and physical activity) ».
In a recent article, the Wall Street Journal defined this practice as “the Hollywood drug“. For many, in fact, it is seen as a shortcut to lose the extra pounds.
The 4 problems of a trend like that of TikTok
According to the specialist Giulio Frontino there are four problems that emerge overwhelmingly. The first? “Healthy lifestylewhich remains the cornerstone of the prevention and treatment of obesity (as well as many other diseases) and its comorbidities and complications should not be overlooked in favor of a drug used without monitoring and / or medical indication“.
And then, the danger of using the drug outside the clinical indication. As it could happen for “non-obese patients, adolescents with possible eating disorders, and subjects with factors that could increase the risk of even potentially serious side effects”.
The third, however, is a problem of availability. “This” easy “weight loss race it can lead to a lack of availability of a drug that is vital for many people with type 2 diabetes mellitus“. In fact, “unfortunately there are still no miracle drugs. We must always have a reasonable degree of distrust towards those who propose them, especially if they are people without expertise in the matter ».
The last problem concerns the places where these trends find room to expand. “Social networks certainly have a great power to connect us, inform us and make us more aware. At the same time however, these platforms can cause serious damage to society on the part of creators (like the aforementioned Tiktoker) who use it irresponsibly, especially if followed by thousands of followers“.
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