Canadians take Ozempic, but the stigma around weight keeps them from talking about it
The current24:08Ozempic, stigma and culture of weight loss
The shame and stigma associated with body size and obesity has crept into the use of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, says a woman who has struggled with her weight for years.
“People have strong opinions about people who can’t lose weight… [they] just think overweight people are lazy and trying to do nothing,” said Edmonton’s Raegan Sather.
Sather has tried several things to lose weight over the past decade, from working out with a personal trainer to putting herself on strict diets. But she didn’t get the results she wanted until she started Ozempic last summer.
“Don’t think that people who are on this drug haven’t tried everything else to do that. This is just a great tool to help us,” she shared The current Matt Galloway.
Ozempic, the brand name for the generic drug Semaglutide, is officially used to treat diabetes. It mimics a hormone that promotes insulin production, but gained popularity among celebrities and social media influencers for its other ability: appetite control. However, it can be prescribed off-label for weight loss in Canada experts have warned it’s not a quick fix.
There are questions about the use of semaglutide, commonly sold under the brand name Ozempic, for weight loss. CBC’s Christine Birak explores the risks and benefits of off-label use of the drug, traditionally used to treat type 2 diabetes.
But that weight-loss stigma has led some celebrities — and some regular Canadians — to take the medication in secret. On a recent TV show, comedian Amy Schumer called out Hollywood stars who covered up their sudden weight loss.
“Everyone lies, everyone says, ‘Oh, smaller portions!’ – as if you shut the fuck up, you’re on Ozempic,” she told talk show host Andy Cohen on Watch what’s happening live.
For Sather, the impact of taking the medication has been “life-changing.” But she says she doesn’t see it as a magic weight loss drug, but rather a tool to help her make healthier choices.
She thinks that more open conversations about its use could help fight the stigma in that way.
“I think, you know, if a celebrity came out and admitted they’re using it to help them, it would go a long way,” she said.
“But instead they let that voice of shame catch up to that unfortunately.”
‘A fat-phobic society’
Health Canada has noted an increased demand for Ozempic – but not everyone who lives in what society considers a larger body thinks that taking Ozempic is the right path for them.
Joanie Pietracupa said her doctor has offered her the drug two or three times.
She wasn’t interested, but the doctor added a note to Pietracupa’s file in case she changed her mind.
“I didn’t even ask for it, you know, and I was prescribed it, so I was very surprised,” said Pietracupa, a journalist in Montreal.
Pietracupa says she’s wary of the side effects some people taking Ozempic experience, including nausea, dehydration, and constipation or diarrhea.
But she also thinks her doctor’s repeated offers say something about attitudes toward bigger bodies.
“I feel like we live in such a fat-phobic society. And being thin, regardless of your health condition, is perhaps more important than anything to a lot of people,” she said.
She said that as long as she’s healthy, she doesn’t see why she should hate her body.
“I love my body and I’m comfortable in it. And I love what it does for me,” she said.
She said she understands why some people choose Ozempic or a similar drug, and doesn’t judge their choices.
“But I don’t feel like I have to,” she said. “And I wouldn’t feel like Ozempic is teaching me anything about, say, portions or lifestyle changes or anything.”
January 19, 2023 | Ozempic, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, has gained immense popularity thanks to a side effect: appetite suppression. Andrew Chang explores how celebrity weight loss, dieting culture and social media have further fueled demand.
A tool to ‘make better choices’
In 2007, Ottawa woman Kerry Toneguzzi lost 100 pounds after weight loss surgery, but gained it all back. She is now taking Ozempic and has lost 115 pounds in two years.
She rejects the idea that taking Ozempic is somehow “an easy way out.”
“I think you really have to look at what you’re doing and really dig deep,” she shared The current.
“You really have to take responsibility for your actions.”
Patients who come off Ozempic are warned that they are likely to gain weight again once it is no longer in their systems to suppress appetite. Toneguzzi expects to take the drug for the rest of her life, along with other measures to manage her weight.
The current7:40 PMThe use of Ozempic to treat obesity raises both excitement and concern
Speak against The current in Januarysaid Dr. Ali Zentner that it is important to remember that “obesity is a hormonal imbalance”.
“It’s a chronic disease, just like depression or type 2 diabetes or hypertension, I would say,” says Zentner, a Vancouver-based specialist in internal medicine, diabetes and obesity. Zentner has also worked as a paid consultant for Novo Nordisk, the company that produces Ozempic.
She said her patients “have been dieting for decades — they’re experts at it.”
“It’s not a function of what they do. It’s a function of their biology,” she said.
Before he started taking weight-loss drugs, Hartley Macklin said he’d lost weight on a lot of diets — only to gain it all back.
He is aware that being overweight can become a greater health complication for people as they age.
“If they become unhealthy – which may be due to old age – [it’ll] are easier to treat… that disease if they weigh less,” says Macklin of Winnipeg.
Sather said Ozempic can be a helpful tool, “but you still have to choose what foods to put in your mouth.”
“You can make better choices… [but] it still takes work to make those choices and do things like that.”
