'I fainted and ended up on a drip': The dark side of weight loss drugs
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"Have you ever thought about going on 'the pen'?" My friend texts me. I'm in bed, doomscrolling and my social media feed is full of hot takes about Ozempic. Insanely beautiful and glossy people are telling me why I should or shouldn't take weight loss drugs.
Warning: This article contains details of body image and weight loss that some people might find distressing. Normally in January, everyone is talking about who's going sober or trying (and failing) the latest viral health challenge. But this year the hot topic is "who's going on the pen?" - the weekly injection that is now widely used for weight loss.
There's no denying that 2024 was a breakthrough year for weight loss drugs. Boris Johnson and Elon Musk are just a few of the celebrities who have announced they have taken it. Robbie Williams even made headlines joking he'd lost his "arse" due to Ozempic. "Now it just looks like the place where you put a credit card," he quipped.
It's not just celebrities and TikTok creators jumping on the weight loss drug hype. According to Simple Online Pharmacy, more than 500,000 people in the UK are now taking one of the few weight loss drugs, with experts predicting a nationwide fall in obesity rates as a result.
Even friends who didn't seem like they would meet the medical criteria for the drugs were tempted. And I can't lie, so was I. What happened to body positivity, I wondered, as I typed 'How to buy weight loss drugs' into my phone. 'Ozempic changed my life'.
Marketed as Ozempic, Wegovy or Saxenda, these drugs are administered via a weekly injection that mimics GLP-1 - a hormone that helps regulate hunger and slow digestion. It is only available with a prescription and online pharmacies have certain checks to ensure you meet the criteria.
