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Weight loss drugs like Wegovy may trigger eating disorders in some patients, doctors warn

NBC News
Summary
Nutrition label

83% Informative

GLP-1 drugs work by mimicking a naturally occurring hormone released by the gut that regulates blood sugar levels and curbs hunger.

In one clinical trial, people taking the highest dose of Eli Lilly’s Zepbound lost 21% of their body weight.

Experts don’t know what percentage of people taking new weight loss drugs are at risk.

Eating disorders are “not something I’m seeing frequently” among people taking GLP-1 drugs, doctor says.

Some doctors are especially concerned about patients prescribed the drugs through large telehealth platforms, not through their regular doctors.

Eating disorders have grown sharply in recent years , experts say.

Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder.

About 5% of people with the condition die within four years of diagnosis.

Drug labels for obesity medications carry no warning about eating disorders.

FDA and manufacturers of obesity drugs have announced no plans to update safety labels.

VR Score

78

Informative language

73

Neutral language

66

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

60

Offensive language

possibly offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

medium-lived

External references

24

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9794-anorexia-nervosahttps://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com/__;!!PIZeeW5wscynRQ!qS4bd_9kkXdtJ_wlH-uRYlzeDoElBxbCDVb3_Wj5Ou5Wgr220-BCedGhDALggHcMGPKISIrH1yzGQFD3AhmANWz90wZXT4-e$https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7219a1.htm?s_cid=mm7219a1_whttps://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/ozempic-wegovy-diabetes-weight-loss-side-effects-rcna66493https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2206038https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2798255?utm_campaign=articlePDF&utm_medium=articlePDFlink&utm_source=articlePDF&utm_content=jamapediatrics.2022.4346https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-new-drug-treatment-chronic-weight-management-first-2014https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/eating-disorders-anorexia-bulimia-are-severe-ever-rcna80745https://www.ucihealth.org/news/2023/08/glp-1-drugs-dangerous-to-kidshttps://www.kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/kff-health-tracking-poll-may-2024-the-publics-use-and-views-of-glp-1-drugs/#:~:text=Overall%2C%2012%25%20of%20adults%20say,these%20drugs%20(18%25%20v.https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-new-medication-chronic-weight-managementhttps://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/eli-lilly-weight-loss-drug-zepbound-fda-approval-ozempic-rcna123169https://www.nbcnews.com/health/long-people-stay-ozempic-stop-2-years-analysis-shows-rcna161216https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38135891/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38329147/https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-many-calories-a-day-should-i-eathttps://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/screening-tool/__;!!PIZeeW5wscynRQ!qS4bd_9kkXdtJ_wlH-uRYlzeDoElBxbCDVb3_Wj5Ou5Wgr220-BCedGhDALggHcMGPKISIrH1yzGQFD3AhmANWz903TuUBn8$https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37513906/https://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/eating-disorders-increase-weight-loss-drugs-wegovy-zepbound-rcna162124https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(22)03177-X/fulltexthttps://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/expert-answers/byetta/faq-20057955https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8429328/https://www.eatingdisorderscollaborative.org/post/cedo-s-response-to-the-oprah-special-shame-blame-and-the-weight-loss-revolutionhttps://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/get-help/

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