Weight loss is trending in the news: what does this say about culture’s relationship to the body?
I wonder if the words Ozempic or Wegovy mean anything to you? What about Mounjaro or Zepbound? And before you ask, no, they are not the newest villains in the latest Avengers movies. Ozempic and Wegovy belong to a class of medication called GLP-1 receptor agonist. In short – weight-loss drugs. Researchers have clocked an exponential and unprecedented rise in young people in particular taking these kinds of drugs. Simply put, weight-loss is trending.
Don’t believe me? The statistics speak for themselves. According to the JAMA network (a monthly open-access medical journal published by the American Medical Association covering all aspects of biomedical science) from 2020 to 2023, the number of US adolescents and young adults who picked up prescriptions for Ozempic, Wegovy and related drugs rocketed up nearly 600%. That means almost 2% of the US population is taking GLP-1. And although it is harder to be prescribed Ozempic in the UK, Wegovy is still available via the NHS and its intake is only set to increase on our shores.
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