A No-Nonsense Guide to to Ozempic

It wouldn't be an understatement to call 2024 the Year of Ozempic.

- Ashley Keenan

Semaglutide medications-sold under the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus-have dominated the news cycle. Celebrities from Whoopi Goldberg to the Osbournes have sung semaglutide's praises, while gossip rags have made it their mission to identify who is on the drug. But how does Ozempic work, and how do you know if it's right for you? Here's everything you should know.

WHAT ARE SEMAGLUTIDES? HOW DO THEY MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT?

Ozempic actually began as a revolutionary treatment for type 2 diabetes, but it often came with a noticeable side effect: weight loss. Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonist. That's a fancy way of saying it's a hormone, which is naturally produced in the gut in response to food intake; GLP-1 signals to the brain that it's full, slows stomach emptying and increases insulin production. When this hormone is produced naturally, it is short-acting. Semaglutides, however, stay in the body longer and have a greater impact, so users often report feeling satisfied with smaller portions of food and staying full for longer, says Dr. Heidi Dutton, an endocrinologist at The Ottawa Hospital and an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa.

HOW DOES OZEMPIC TREAT DIABETES?

Ozempic has seen significant success in treating type 2 diabetes by decreasing insulin resistance as well as moderating blood-glucose levels and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c). With semaglutides, "some of my patients with type 2 diabetes have been able to stop or significantly reduce their insulin doses," says Dutton.

In a 2023 Frontiers in Endocrinology study, researchers found an HbA1c reduction of up to 1.8 percent and an average weight loss of 6.5 kg (about 14 pounds) among semaglutide users over a 12-month period. There was also evidence of a 26 percent reduction in risk for cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetics.