People struggling with many addictions, ranging from opioids to gambling, are reporting similar experiences in clinics, on social media and around dinner tables. None of them started these drugs to quit. This pattern of people losing their cravings across a broad range of addictive substances has no precedent in medicine.
GLP-1s work by mimicking a natural hormone of the same name, and in addition to its other effects on blood sugar, GLP-1 aids weight loss by sending signals to your brain that make you feel full sooner, which has been shown to help users drop up to 20% of their body weight.
What does loving yourself at any size mean now that weight loss is back in fashion and becoming more accessible than ever? Can you still be body positive while wanting to lose weight? The former body positivity influencer Gabriella Lascano argues that the movement has lost its way and taken an extreme turn in recent years. But she says there's a middle ground that still champions self-love and bodily autonomy while redefining them, too.
Novo Nordisk initially dominated the space with its semaglutide-based drugs, Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity, securing a strong foothold in both markets. However, Eli Lilly has since pulled ahead with tirzepatide - marketed as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss. The drug's dual GLP-1/GIP receptor mechanism delivers superior weight loss - around 20% in trials compared to semaglutide's 14% - propelling Lilly into the market leadership position.
Oprah Winfrey has spent years turning her private health journey into a public conversation - and, at times, a lucrative business. The billionaire, real-estate mogul, talk-show host, journalist, actor, and producer has just released her 12th book: "Enough: Your Health, Your Weight, and What It's Like To Be Free." The book, which she co-authored with Dr. Ania M. Jastreboff, a doctor and professor at Yale's School of Medicine, dives into the role of GLP-1 drugs to facilitate weight loss.
Obesity shaped Anna Olson's earliest notions of herself, when she saw a photo and thought, "Oh, I look different than the other kids." Olson's obesity began in toddlerhood, ran in her family, and left her with a chronic hunger hard to satiate. Dozens of diet, drug and exercise regimens didn't work, and advice from doctors was always the same: Eat less.
Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Asda, Ocado and the Co-op are among the big names targeting shoppers who use weight-loss injections, known as GLP-1 agonists, but better known by brand names such as Wegovy and Mounjaro. Ocado's new virtual weight management aisle includes a curated range of GLP-1-friendly products that runs the gamut from tiny (100g) portions of steak costing 3.50 to a trendy powdered greens supplement, AG1, at 107 a pack.
Britain's love affair with sausage rolls and steak bakes is being quietly reshaped by the rise of weight loss injections, according to the boss of Greggs. Roisin Currie, chief executive of the FTSE-listed bakery chain, said there was "no doubt" that appetite-suppressing drugs such as GLP-1 treatments were influencing how much, and what, customers want to eat, contributing to softer sales and a more cautious outlook for the year ahead.
Concord, NH - Attorney General John M. Formella and a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general are calling on Meta to better enforce its own policies about pharmaceutical and wellness ads on Instagram and Facebook and take additional measures to prevent AI-generated weight loss content in ads. These ads are likely to see an uptick during the holiday season and the new year, when conversations around weight loss and appearance tend to increase.
From late 2020 to the summer of 2024, Eli Lilly & Co. ( NYSE: LLY) stock was on a tear, up more than 635%, before taking a breather and then heading higher. The past couple of years have been a transformative time for the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant, with substantial financial growth driven by its innovative medicines and GLP-1 drugs, significant regulatory successes, and continued investment in its pipeline and manufacturing capabilities.
The deadline for extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies is approaching this month. This is happening even as consumers who depend on the ACA Marketplace are faced with the tough decision. Should they forego health plans that will no longer be affordable for them once the subsidies expire or hope that Congress will reach a bipartisan agreement to extend the subsidies until workable alternatives can be hashed out and approved?
There may be more deals on the way. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have already reduced prices for the leading GLP-1s in their recent agreement with President Trump in exchange for expanded access to millions of people on Medicare. Medical researchers also continue to find promising new medical uses for GLP-1s, including treatment of addiction, COPD and dementia - though not every application has proven successful.
"President Trump directed us to stop at nothing to lower health care costs for the American people," said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in a press release. "As we work to Make America Healthy Again, we will use every tool at our disposal to deliver affordable health care to seniors."
Novo Nordisk's closely-watched Alzheimer's trials of an older oral version of its semaglutide drug failed to help slow the progression of the brain-wasting disease, the firm said on Monday, a blow to the obesity drug giant that sent its shares sliding. The trials, which Novo had previously called a "lottery ticket" to underline its highly uncertain outcome, were testing whether the medicine could slow cognitive decline in patients.
There's plenty of encouraging news for people taking GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic to lose weight and reduce the risk of diabetes: countless people who have lost weight while using it and seen other health benefits as a result. But along with the good news come some bleaker aspects, with some people taking these drugs and reporting feelings of nausea as a result.
The idea that "Thin is in" arose with the Twiggy era in the 1960s. It was about this time that the saying, "You can never be too rich or too thin," became popular and was repeated by celebrities such as the Duchess of Windsor, Joan Rivers, and Truman Capote. Author Stephen King added on a few words, "You can never be too thin or too rich. And if you don't believe it, you were never really fat or really poor."
I'm not going to change until the science changes, and the science does not look like it's changing. It's getting stronger and stronger every day. What we recommend is that mothers, pregnant mothers, talk to their physicians. The mothers of small kids talk to their physicians, and we've advised the physicians to reduce the thresholds and to reduce the amount of Tylenol that they give to children as much as possible, and only use it when it's absolutely critical.
The GLP-1 drug market has surged dramatically in the past four years, driven by soaring demand for weight-loss treatments that also tackle related conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Valued at over $100 billion today, the sector is projected to exceed $150 billion by 2030 as more patients seek effective therapies. Viking Therapeutics ( NASDAQ:VKTX ) is carving out a strong position with its dual GLP-1/GIP agonist VK2735, which showed up to 15% weight loss in Phase 2 trials.
This accusation is predicated on I-MAK's assertion that these companies own large numbers of patents covering their respective products. But, as the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) noted in its recent Drug Patent and Exclusivity Study, 'simply quantifying raw numbers of patents and exclusivities is an imprecise way to measure the intellectual property landscape of a drug product because not every patent or exclusivity has the same scope.'
At the end of August, tennis star Serena Williams advertised a new weight-loss drug. The slogan, in Williams's voice, was: They say GLP-1a drug that mimics a hormone that regulates blood sugar, appetite, and slows digestionis a shortcut to weight loss, but it's not. It's science. Interestingly, Serena Williams's husband is an investor and member of the board of Ro, the healthcare company that offers it.
What struck me was the feeling of not being hungry, he tells the Guardian. I still wanted to eat, but I didn't feel that drive. It made me think this is going to kill the restaurant industry, because if people aren't eating as much, restaurants won't be as enticing. I'm not sure what will happen to supermarkets either. I don't think this change is bad for health.
