Wegovy, Ozempic and other new weight loss drugs give doctors new concern

The new wave of popular weight loss drugs have helped many Americans cut inches of their waistlines, but that doesn’t always come without side effects and now doctors are sounding a new alarm.

According to NBC News, patients taking the GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro and Zepbound, have seen an increase in eating disorders.

“They start using this drug and next thing you know, they’ve developed what looks very much like anorexia nervosa,” psychologist Tom Hildebrandt of Mount Sinai’s Center of Excellence in Eating and Weight Disorders told NBC.

The report said that the drugs, which mimic glucagon-like peptide 1, a naturally occurring hormone in the gut which controls blood sugar and can lessen hunger, have resulted in some taking the highest doses to lose as much as 21% of their body weight.

Per Hildebrandt, that level of weight loss can lead the brain to believe the body is suffering from starvation. And, he said, that can lead to patients continuing to limit their food intake “even when it endangers their health.”

The site reported that the “restrictive eating” then “spiral out of control.”

Hildebrandt told the site that individuals who “have an unhealthy relationship with food in your history” are most likely to be at risk of this with the drugs.

NBC spoke to Eli Lilly, which makes Mounjaro, and the company said that patient safety is its top priority and that it actively engages “in monitoring, evaluating, and reporting safety information for all our medicines.”

“If someone is experiencing any side effects while taking any Lilly medication, we encourage them to speak with their healthcare provider,” the company added.

You can read more about the issues in the NBC report here.