Featured Experts
Dr. Carol Eisenstat, a physician in New York City
Dr. Azza Halim, a physician in Boca Raton, Florida
Despite the continued and increasing popularity of weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, there’s still much that remains unknown about their long-term effects. A recent study by Novo Nordisk—the manufacturer of both Ozempic and Wegovy—set out to answer some of these lingering questions. The study, which focused only on Wegovy, piggybacked on the results of the drug’s previously published SELECT trial, which studied semaglutide use in more than 17,000 patients with preexisting heart disease; it found that the drug reduced the risk of serious cardiovascular issues (heart attack, stroke, and death) by 20%.
The latest research looked at the consequences of taking Wegovy for years on end—more specifically, whether it could help maintain weight loss. So long as people continued to take the drug, they did, in fact, keep the weight off over the course of four years. According to New York City physician Dr. Carol Eisenstat, this finding makes sense. “The body’s natural responses, such as increased hunger and decreased metabolism, can make it challenging to sustain weight loss through lifestyle changes alone,” she explains. “Continuing weight-loss medications helps manage these responses, supporting ongoing weight maintenance and potentially enhancing overall health outcomes.”
But how will that translate to real-world practices? TBD. “Whether people should stay on weight loss drugs ultimately will be a case-by-case decision and requires proper assessment by the practitioner in order to determine what’s best for each individual based on their history and underlying conditions,” says Dr. Azza Halim, a physician in Boca Raton, Florida.
The side effects of long-term Wegovy use were also considered. In the original study, approximately 17% of the patients withdrew from the clinical trial because of side effects—nausea, in particular. This secondary analysis showed that patients with lower BMI were more likely to discontinue taking Wegovy, although the rate of side effects was the same across all BMI categories. Both doctors we spoke with offer weight-loss medication in their practices but agree that the data around the side effects of these drugs is still lacking. Dr. Halim notes that she’d prefer not only additional research on long-term consequences but also what can be done to prevent them. “Physicians would still like to see more solid stats on risk versus benefits,” she notes. Dr. Eisenstat agrees, adding that she’s hoping for comparative studies between Wegovy and other weight-loss medications as well as the mental health effects of continued use.
Still, both experts do think that the findings of this latest study will have a positive effect, on both the public and the medical community. Showing that these medications can lead to significant and lasting weight loss, as well as have potential cardiovascular benefits, will likely increase public confidence and acceptance of these medications and further reduce the stigma surrounding them, says Dr. Eisenstat. “It will also allow healthcare providers to more readily prescribe weight-loss medications once they understand the long-term benefits as well as how to use them as a tool to combat obesity and other associated comorbidities,” Dr. Halim says.
