Ozempic For Weight Loss: How It Works, Side Effects & More

O-o-o-Ozempic®. Whether or not that puts the jingle in your head, you can take one quick scroll through TikTok and probably find quite a few videos on Ozempic for weight loss. But what’s the buzz all about?

Ozempic is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help those with type 2 diabetes manage their blood sugar levels. It’s also prescribed off-label to help those who are overweight or have obesity lose weight.

Let’s dive right in. Below, we cover how Ozempic works, whether the drug is safe, common side effects and alternatives to consider.

When used alongside healthy eating and increased physical movement, Ozempic can help lower blood sugar levels in those with type 2 diabetes. It can also reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death in patients with type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

That’s all great, but where does weight loss come into play?

Weight loss is one side effect of Ozempic when it’s used for type 2 diabetes. This is why the drug is often prescribed off-label (when a medication is prescribed for something it isn’t approved for) to help people with obesity lose weight.

Ozempic is one brand name for a drug called semaglutide. You can also get semaglutide in tablet form — the brand name for that is Rybelsus®, and it’s also approved for type 2 diabetes.

A higher-dose injection of semaglutide is available under the brand name Wegovy®, which is FDA-approved for weight loss.

Ozempic and Wegovy have the same active ingredient, semaglutide, and they’re both once-a-week injections. However, they’re FDA-approved for different uses and are available in different doses.

• Ozempic is FDA-approved for those with type 2 diabetes in doses up to 2 milligrams (mg) of semaglutide.

• Wegovy is FDA-approved for those who are overweight or have obesity. Doses are usually up to 2.4mg of semaglutide.

Since Ozempic is prescribed off-label for weight loss, there are no set guidelines for who qualifies for the drug. However, healthcare providers may use the same prescribing guidelines as Wegovy.

Wegovy is prescribed to those with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more or those with a BMI of 27 or more with at least one weight-related health condition, like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol.

Ozempic is a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, which means it mimics the GLP-1 hormone in your body.

When you eat, your digestive tract releases GLP-1. One of this hormone’s jobs is to prompt your body to make more insulin, reducing blood sugar levels.

High levels of GLP-1 can also reduce your appetite and trigger feelings of fullness. Since Ozempic mimics this hormone, it can have the same effect.

According to a study sponsored by Novo Nordisk, semaglutide is linked to:

• Less hunger

• Fewer food cravings

• Better control of eating

• Less preference for high-fat foods

This can make it easier to stick to a healthy eating plan and achieve weight loss goals.

Some research suggests Ozempic can be effective for weight loss.

A 2021 study sponsored by Novo Nordisk looked at almost 2,000 adults without diabetes who took either a weekly semaglutide injection or a placebo for 68 weeks. They also made lifestyle changes, like eating more nutritious foods and incorporating more movement into their days.

After 68 weeks:

• The group taking semaglutide lost an average of almost 15 percent of their body weight.

• The group taking the placebo lost an average of 2.4 percent of their body weight.

One thing to note about this study is that participants received a 2.4mg dose of semaglutide. Ozempic is usually prescribed at a lower dose, starting at 0.25mg and increasing to up to 2mg a week for patients with type 2 diabetes.

Another Novo Nordisk-sponsored study compared a weekly semaglutide injection with a daily liraglutide injection — another GLP-1 receptor agonist. Besides taking the injections, participants changed their eating habits and the amount of daily movement they did.

Both groups lost weight, but participants taking semaglutide lost more weight than those taking liraglutide.

Semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic) is not only safe for most people with overweight and obesity, it also helps reduce the risk of future health problems like heart attack and stroke.

Most clinical trials of brand-name Ozempic involve people with type 2 diabetes. But the outlook of long-term treatment has been largely positive. When people taking Ozempic see both improved blood sugar management and weight loss, practitioners typically encourage them to continue taking Ozempic indefinitely.

Just like you wouldn’t stop taking your blood pressure medication once your blood pressure reached a healthy level, your doctor wouldn’t want you to stop taking Ozempic once the benefits had kicked in.

What we know so far is that Ozempic weight loss may not last forever. Once you stop taking the drug, there’s a chance you’ll regain some (or all) of the weight you lost.

Specifically, Novo Nordisk-funded research from 2022 looked at what happened when people stopped taking semaglutide after 68 weeks of treatment. One year later, study participants had regained an average of two-thirds of the weight they’d lost.

Here’s a little more on the potential side effects and risks of Ozempic.

Common Side Effects of Ozempic

Common Ozempic side effects include:

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Stomach pain

• Constipation

These side effects are reported in more than five percent of people taking Ozempic.

That’s not all, though. Other potential side effects of Ozempic include:

• Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)

• Redness or discomfort at the injection site

• Increased amylase and lipase (enzymes that break down carbs and fats)

• Gallstones

• Increased heart rate

• Fatigue

• Changes in taste (foods could taste bad to you)

• Dizziness

Ozempic Severe Side Effects

As with any medication, Ozempic also comes with the risk of rarer but more serious side effects.

Those include:

• Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas)

• Diabetic retinopathy complications

• Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) when used with an insulin secretagogue or insulin

• Acute kidney injury

• Hypersensitivity reactions

There’s also a black box warning stating that semaglutide can cause thyroid C-cell tumors in rodents. It’s unclear whether it can cause tumors and thyroid cancer in humans.

Ozempic isn’t safe for people with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or those with multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2.

And it’s unclear whether Ozempic is safe for those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Let your healthcare provider know if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding or planning to be soon.

Ozempic Drug Interactions

You shouldn’t take Ozempic if you’re taking insulin or an insulin secretagogue drug, like sulfonylurea. This can raise your odds of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

You also want to watch out for changes in the effects of any oral medications you’re taking — that’s right, any oral medications.

Ozempic causes a delay in gastric emptying, which means food is kept in your stomach for longer. This delay may impact how your body absorbs oral medications.

Tell your healthcare provider about any over-the-counter or prescription drugs you take (or may start taking) if you’re considering adding Ozempic to the mix.

The Benefits May Outweigh the Risks

Ozempic comes with some risks of side effects, but obesity comes with more serious risks.

Almost 42 percent of adults over 20 have obesity, and 73.6 percent are either overweight or have obesity.

Obesity can lead to a whole host of medical conditions, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer — to name just a few.

So, while Ozempic isn’t approved for weight loss, it may benefit those struggling to manage their weight.

Ozempic can cost $940 to over $1,000 a month without insurance. It isn’t usually covered by insurance for weight loss, so it can be an expensive drug, especially if you take it for a long time.

More affordable options exist, including compounded semaglutide from Hers, which contains the same active ingredient as Ozempic. Through Hers, you can get compounded semaglutide starting at just $165 per month (for a 12-month subscription, paid in full).

If you want to lose weight, Ozempic isn’t your only option.

There are other injections, including:

• Wegovy (semaglutide)

• Mounjaro® and Zepbound® (tirzepatide)

• Victoza® and Saxenda® (liraglutide)

And oral medications, including:

• Rybelsus (semaglutide)

• Metformin

• Contrave® (naltrexone-bupropion)

• Topamax® (topiramate)

• Xenical® (orlistat)

• Qsymia® (phentermine-topiramate)

We also offer holistic weight loss programs, combining weight loss medication (if appropriate) with realistic eating plans, behavioral change tools and expert guidance.

A healthcare provider can walk you through the pros and cons of weight loss treatments and help you decide which is right for you.

To get started, check out our guide to Ozempic vs metformin here.

Ozempic is a diabetes drug, but it can be prescribed off-label for weight loss. There’s a lot to consider when deciding whether to take Ozempic for weight loss.

Here are the key facts:

• Ozempic may help you lose weight. Semaglutide can help you feel less hungry and more full. When combined with a nutritious meal plan and more daily movement, it can help with weight management.

• Ozempic comes with potential side effects. Common side effects include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and more serious side effects include low blood sugar and gallstones.

• More research needs to be done into safety. Ozempic is a relatively new drug, so we don’t have long-term studies or research on people without type 2 diabetes who used it to lose weight.

The final verdict? Ozempic may help you lose weight, but speak to a healthcare provider to find out if it’s suitable for you or whether other weight loss methods might be a better fit.

We get that this might just be the beginning of your exploration into weight loss treatments. If you’re feeling “on the fence” about Ozempic, there are plenty of other safe and effective treatments for weight loss for you to explore.