March 15, 2024 – Summer season is quick approaching, and the pressures of “bikini season” have some younger adults trying to GLP-1 medications like Ozempic to shed weight. And whereas knowledge exhibits that weight problems is skyrocketing amongst U.S. teenagers and younger adults, Ozempic and different GLP-1 drugs are very hardly ever the primary or finest choice to drop a few pounds – particularly for individuals who don’t have weight problems or associated situations, specialists say.
Earlier than leaping to those drugs, teenagers ought to be certain that they’re consuming nutritious meals and getting sufficient train. However for teenagers who’re obese (BMI over 25) or overweight (BMI 30 or more),Sue Decotiis, MD, a triple board-certified medical weight reduction physician who runs a non-public observe in New York Metropolis, suggests they see their physician for a screening of their baseline metabolic rate and insulin levels.
“Teenagers often have a quick metabolism, so by seeing their metabolism and insulin ranges, it will give me an thought whether or not they really want the drug,” she stated.
As temperatures rise on the highway to summer time, Ozempic and different GLP-1 drugs could be alluring as physique comparisons improve, in response to Wendy Sterling, a registered dietitian and co-author of Raising Body Positive Teens: A Parent’s Guide to Diet-Free Living, Exercise, and Body Image. Younger folks ought to be hyper conscious of managing such ideas, she stated.
It is a significantly vital message for these 18 to 24 years of age, whose brains are nonetheless rising and growing, stated Lexy Penney, a registered dietitian and proprietor of Lexy Penney Nutrition & Wellness, the place she focuses on areas surrounding younger adults and physique picture.
“If younger folks get the message ‘your physique is improper and as a way to repair it, right here’s a capsule,’ it could possibly set off a cascade of turning to fast fixes, low self-esteem, and destructive physique picture that may take years to undo,” she stated.
One other essential word: Younger adults ought to be particularly conscious of the dangers of taking GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic, if you find yourself not a professional candidate, in response to Michael Hakimi, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon and proprietor of Hakimi Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills.
Ozempic is FDA-approved for treating diabetes, whereas its sister drug, Wegovy, is accredited for weight problems in anybody 12 and over. Different choices embrace Mounjaro and Zepbound.
In case you are trying to shed 5 or 10 kilos, or you might be hoping to drop a few pounds in a selected space of your physique, this isn’t a medicine for you, Hakimi stated. He sees such inquiries so much with youthful sufferers, who’ve a decrease BMI and wish to drop a few pounds in simply a part of the physique (within the stomach space, for instance).
“Should you’re not obese, you have to know that these drugs trigger you to drop a few pounds all over the place,” Hakimi stated. “These drugs may even make you look older to some extent in the event that they’re abused or misused by sufferers that may’t afford to lose extra weight of their face or of their buttocks, for instance.”
Hakimi stated medical doctors have an obligation to teach sufferers with decrease BMIs about potential outcomes of those drugs, which embrace extreme unintended effects within the intestine, like diarrhea, extreme constipation, and even pancreatitis. There’s additionally the associated fee. The medicine can value $1,000 a month, and lots of insurers will not cowl them. Plus, research have proven that many individuals regain weight in the event that they cease taking the drugs.
In case you are weighing the choice of taking a GLP-1 medicine, it is very important ask your self what’s driving your potential determination. Take a look at your social media use and take account of who you might be following, advised Sterling. Look at how these accounts make you are feeling and whether or not you are feeling impressed vs. feeling like you have to change one thing about your self.
“A lot of what we see on-line is unrealistic,” she stated. “We’re all inundated with food plan tradition, and most are determined for fast methods to drop a few pounds.” She suggests attempting a “weight impartial” strategy, equivalent to stress management, correct sleep, and listening to hunger and fullness cues to achieve your distinctive physique objectives.
