Ozempic firm to launch muscle mass tool

One of Australia’s biggest prescribers of weight-loss drugs is trying to stop patients becoming ‘skinny-fat’ amid concerns users risk becoming ‘lean but malnourished’.

The Australian previously revealed leading doctors were concerned about the health risks to people prescribed Ozempic through telehealth subscription models but not accessing support to change diet and behaviours. Picture: AFP

One of Australia’s biggest prescribers of a new class of weight-loss drugs which includes Ozempic is trying to stop patients becoming ‘skinny-fat’ amid concerns from weight management experts that users of the drugs risk becoming “lean but malnourished”.

Juniper, owned by tech health company Eucalyptus, will launch the novel “strength program”, to help patients maintain muscle mass, early next year through its app.

It will be provided to those prescribed Ozempic and Mounjaro off-label for weight loss.

While Eucalyptus’s profitable medical “Weight Reset” program has so far focused on weight loss through prescription of this class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide 1 agonists, or GLP-1, it will now incorporate a three-tiered muscle mass regime.

It is understood the program will help patients calculate nutrition choices based on a high-protein diet, encourage them to engage in low-impact walking exercises and aerobic exercises, and offer five-minute daily low-impact strength exercises to build lean muscle mass and improve metabolism.

The Australian previously revealed leading doctors were concerned about the health risks to people prescribed Ozempic through telehealth subscription models but not accessing support to change diet and behaviours.

Health experts warned many patients risked becoming “lean but malnourished” due to a significant loss of muscle and bone mass from significant weight loss. The available evidence suggests while fat mass substantially rebounds when people stop taking GLP-1 drugs, lost muscle mass is not regained. This could have detrimental impacts particularly on older people’s ability to move around.

The drug also reduces appetite, meaning food intake, particularly protein, drops significantly.

Eucalyptus clinical director Dr Matt Vickers said the company hoped to take its Weight Reset offering “one step further” with the launch of the strength program.

“When we lose weight, between 20 to 40 per cent of this is muscle mass. In addition to cognitive decline and increased risk of heart failure, this type of muscle loss also leads to a condition known as sarcopenia, which can have serious health consequences as we get older,” Dr Vickers said.

“This new program will be built around a high-protein diet, targeted exercise plans and strength-building to ensure patients maintain and build lean muscle mass while losing fat.”

Juniper has always said that alongside a subscription to Ozempic, it offers medical intervention, health coaching and diet advice.

Associate Professor David Scott, from Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, is in early talks with Eucalyptus to evaluate the effectiveness of Juniper’s strength program as it develops. Research on muscle mass while on GLP-1s has been minimal to date.

Professor Scott does not have a commercial arrangement with the company and hasn’t had any input into the program’s design. He said he doesn’t think the drugs should be a lifelong solution for obesity but should be a “facilitator for improving one’s lifestyle”.

“We know it’s challenging to begin exercise programs and hard to eat less when you have obesity, so using this drug will bring your weight down, meaning exercise gets easier and eating less gets easier because you’re not hungry all the time. Then hopefully we can remove the drug and that becomes a new normal.

“Any prescriber who is offering these drugs to patients needs to be conscious of the potential loss of muscle and bone and come up with effective strategies … through tailored exercise programs and tailored nutrition as well.”