Ozempic, an FDA-approved drug for treating type 2 diabetes, exploded into popularity when people started using it as a weight loss drug. Since then, various medical studies have found that the main ingredient, semaglutide, helps people suffering from kidney health, heart health, drug addiction, and Alzheimer's disease.
However, new research shows some negative side effects of this drug, including muscle loss.
International team presents research results lancet medical journal This month, preliminary results were released showing a slightly higher rate of non-adipose tissue loss compared to weight loss by non-prescription means.
Although there are some concerns, researchers do not suggest that people taking Ozempic stop taking it completely.
“These highly effective drugs should be used strategically,” the study states. “This strategy can be achieved through simultaneous nutritional supplementation and exercise intervention.”
NewsNation medical contributor and cardiologist Dr. Dave Montgomery said he's not ringing alarm bells.
“This report is about what we're seeing across the board in terms of weight loss,” Montgomery said Friday on NewsNation's “Morning in America.”
“When you lose a lot of weight over a short period of time, you see not only fat loss but also muscle loss. This is a physiological principle,” he added.
Montgomery also said studies like this would improve the patient pool. People who rely on bone muscle mass, such as postmenopausal women, may not benefit as much.
“If studies find that this is a problem with excessive loss of muscle that builds strong bones, then we'll have to say it shouldn't be given to all postmenopausal women,” he says. . As an example.
Muscle loss can be reversed by strength training, endurance training, and increasing protein in your diet.
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