Hollywood is turning to diabetes drugs for weight loss

The insulin regulator is in critically short demand in Australia, after being touted as a weight-loss miracle on TikTok.

The insulin regulator is in critically short demand in Australia, after being touted as a weight-loss miracle on TikTok.

Hollywood stars looking to shed the pounds have in the past turned to drastic diets or punishing workout routines.

Now, however, they have a new weapon. Described as the worst-kept secret in showbiz, a drug designed to treat diabetes is taking the entertainment industry by storm as the latest staple for those looking to stay slim.

Ozempic reportedly exploded in popularity after being touted as a weight-loss aid on TikTok — the Ozempic hashtag has been viewed more than 160 million times. An insulin regulator, the drug is injected once a week and can reduce a patient’s appetite, triggering weight loss. And according to Variety, actors, agents and executives are paying as much as $1,500 a month for the privilege.

“The insurance companies are refusing to cover this for anyone who is not diabetic. It’s led to panic, ” Mahowald said

“I am not at all endorsing this, but people are talking about it,” comedian Heather McDonald said on her podcast, Juicy Scoop. “A lot of people are wondering, ‘What are the Kardashians using where they had such rapid weight loss and dropped it so quick and their bodies completely transformed?’

“A lot of people were talking about this and it’s called Ozempic.”

@darcyomalley

Ozempic update: 8 week mark! TW: weight loss & scales #ozempic #ozempicweightloss #ozempicjourney

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While there is no evidence that the Kardashians have been using the drug, it is ubiquitous elsewhere in the star-studded industry, according to Hollywood nutritionist Matt Mahowald. “It’s become a huge problem, everyone jumping on this bandwagon,” he told Variety. “The insurance companies are refusing to cover this for anyone who is not diabetic. It’s led to panic.”

Kim Kardashian lost 16 pounds in three weeks in order to fit Marilyn Monroe's iconic gown at the 2022 Met Gala.

The Australian government issued a warning in August over continued supply issues with the drug, partly as a result of “extensive prescribing for obesity management, for which Ozempic is not indicated”.

Hollywood figures are said to be praising Ozempic on Signal, the encrypted messaging service, while hair and make-up teams now accept that the injections are part of a celebrity’s preparation for big events. Although the drug is usually supplied by doctors and nutritionists, Variety said that health spas in Arizona are also providing it.

The weight-loss properties of Ozempic first made headlines last year. In February 2021, the drug featured on The Dr Oz Show, the talk show hosted by Mehmet Oz, who is now the Republican Senate candidate in Pennsylvania.

He talked to a doctor who described semaglutide — manufactured by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and sold under the brand name Ozempic — as a “game-changer” for fighting the obesity epidemic.

However, other experts have raised concerns about the drug’s use for patients who have not been diagnosed with diabetes. Dr Zhaoping Li, chief of clinical nutrition at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, warned that doubts remain over the long-term effects of the drug.

“Obesity is an epidemic,” she said. “This is one of the tools in our box, it is not the end-all. The longest study done on these injections was conducted over less than two years. A lot of questions have not been answered.”

Li added that the maximum weight loss for patients on Ozempic is about 15 per cent of body mass, meaning those who are significantly overweight would still need to make changes to their lifestyles. “It comes down to lifestyle — activity, eating right and stress management,” she said.