It's led to a lot of weight loss, despite the disclaimer that it is not for weight loss. It is for truly obese people, to help them get to a healthier weight because they feel like they lack impulse control, but it is being used by those who want to drop 10 or 15 lbs. before beach holidays.
This kind of thing is common in wealthy areas. A study once found an alarming surge in autism in Los Angeles, after that became a cool way to get around the line at Disneyland. It turned out that it was only a surge in autism diagnoses, pediatricians who were willing to fill out the form for their clients were doing it in huge numbers. They were cured the same way Jenny McCarthy claims she cured her son - the power of belief.
The same surge in LA and San Francisco happened with diagnoses of gluten sensitivity and medical exemptions from vaccines after we finally got the state to remove arbitrary exemptions that had led to record numbers of preventable childhood diseases.
Celia Walden writing in the The Telegraph noted that her husband has been an anomaly at recent events because he accepted long-standing energy balance truths; if you consume fewer calories than you burn you are guaranteed to lose weight, no book or pill required.
She also notes it will be the medical gift that keeps on giving. Because it also causes sunken cheeks in men who overdo it - natural weight loss gives your skin time to adjust - they will want to get fillers for the "Ozempic face" and buy anti-aging creams. It's become so common young people have even taken to calling a bad picture "an Ozempic."
Did you get a saggy face because you took a prescription pill instead of eating less? A holistic anti-aging skin supplement clinic is ready to take your money. Image: Aestha
Medical fads are the gift that keeps on giving.
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