Health Startups Offer Diabetes Drugs Like Ozempic for Weight Loss With Little Oversight
This article focuses on weight loss companies that use social media to promote a diabetes drug as a viable method for losing weight. Dr. Elizabeth Wassenaar is quoted in the piece, sharing her reaction to these advertisements and how they contribute to and drive an increase in eating disorders.
In an Instagram ad for online weight-loss service NextMed, a young woman holds the skin on her stomach and complains about her “little tummy pouch.” In an ad for a similar service—launched by Instacart’s former chief executive—a model wears a yellow bikini and weighs 102 pounds, according to a modeling-agency profile.
Digital health startups are racing to cash in on booming demand for diabetes drugs that are effective for weight loss, but some of the companies are advertising and prescribing the drugs to people who aren’t overweight.
