Wegovy for weight loss

We love when clients bring their health questions to a health expert, and this is one we’ve been hearing more and more – What’s Wegovy? Wegovy is a newcomer to the field of weight loss drugs. It was recently approved by the FDA to treat obesity.

People with diabetes have been using this class of drug for years (you’ve seen the commercials…Victoza, Ozempic, and Trulicity) and it became clear there was a side effect of weight loss while taking these medications.  This lead to the creation of GLP-1 RA drugs just for weight loss.

Wegovy is a once a week injectable that decreases the appetite and can be used long term for weight loss. Clinical trials have shown impressive results. The most recent finding revealed that after 108 weeks of using Wegovy with a healthy diet and exercise, there was an average weight loss of about 15% bodyweight. Losing that much weight (about 30 pounds for a 200 pound person) and keeping it off for two years is a big deal!

Be in the know

• Side effects are mostly related to gastrointestinal symptoms.

• Be aware that there is a black box warning (serious side effect) for an increased risk of thyroid cancer.

• Broad insurance coverage is not yet available and the out-of-pocket costs are high.

While dietitians do not prescribe any medications we do discuss with clients the potential impact of using weight loss drugs during our sessions. Come to us as a trusted source for all your nutrition-related questions!

For more on working on weight loss goals at Chesapeake Nutrition Company -

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Resources:

Press release for Step 5 trial results

Review of semaglutide weight-loss trials from Journal of Investigative Medicine

Healthline article about Wegovy