Saturday 19 November 2022 11:02 PM How unfounded claims over Kim Kardashian's weight loss led to a TikTok craze ... trends now
A TikTok-fuelled stampede for a pioneering obesity drug has led to a global shortage, leaving desperate patients with serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes without vital treatment.
The medication semaglutide, known by brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, has been hailed as a major breakthrough, helping people who take it shed almost a fifth of their weight. It works by suppressing the appetite, with users saying they crave less and sometimes forget to eat.
In February, NHS spending watchdog the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved the weekly jab for obese patients with a weight-related illness, such as type 2 diabetes, or at high risk of a heart attack, as slimming down can help protect against these problems. The drug is taken via an easy-to-use self-injection pen.
In May, reality TV star Kim Kardashian told Vogue magazine she had lost 16 lb in three weeks so she would be thin enough to fit into a dress that once belonged to Marilyn Monroe, rumours began to circulate that she had used semaglutide
The once-weekly injection is designed for clinically obese diabetics
When, in May, reality TV star Kim Kardashian told Vogue magazine she had lost 16 lb in three weeks so she would be thin enough to fit into a dress that once belonged to Marilyn Monroe, rumours began to circulate that she had used semaglutide.
Kardashian has never commented on the claims, yet in one TikTok clip, viewed more than a million times on the video-sharing app, an evangelical patient speculates: ‘In my opinion Kim’s drastic weight loss could be due to something like [semaglutide]… I might be wrong. These [medicines] are tools for people to completely metabolically change their bodies.’
In another clip, with 2.4 million views, TikTok user Kendyl Page Burnstein charts her own transformation, losing 30 lb. Scores of comments on this and other posts say: ‘Where can I get some?’
The hashtag #ozempic alone has more than 270 million views on TikTok, with hundreds of millions for #semaglutide, #wegovy and similar. In October, entrepreneur Elon Musk claimed on Twitter that he had lost weight thanks to the drug.
Although semaglutide is licensed for use only in people with obesity suffering health problems, specialists can legally offer it to anyone they feel might benefit – this is known as ‘off-label’ use. It has allowed doctors to prescribe semaglutide to high-risk patients as a preventative measure, rather than wait for them to develop an illness.
Marylin Monroe, pictured here wearing the dress in May 1962, is with Steve Smith, President John F Kennedy's brother in law
The phenomenal success of the drug, where almost all other approaches have failed, has led to surging demand in America, where more than 70 million adults, or about 40 per cent of the population, are obese.
But it seems semaglutide is also being prescribed to those who are not overweight. US entertainment magazine Variety published an investigation in September that suggested A-list actors were using the jabs to stay as skinny as possible. ‘Styling teams for celebrities have come to accept the injections as part of grooming rituals,’ it reported. ‘It has become the worst-kept secret in Hollywood.’
Soaring demand has led to stocks of semaglutide running dry. Social media is littered with stories about patients with type 2 diabetes and other serious weight-related problems, who need the drug to help control their condition, struggling to get hold of the medication.
When approached by The Mail on Sunday, semaglutide manufacturer Novo Nordisk UK confirmed it was ‘aware of a stock shortage’, adding: ‘Unprecedented demand has tested our manufacturing capacity. We are working to remedy this as soon as possible.’
Semaglutide is a type of drug known as a GLP-1 agonist, and there are others that have a similar effect available, including dulaglutide and liraglutide. However, the shortages are now affecting these, too, says Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacists: ‘There has been a problem getting hold of all GLP-1 agonists for a few months now – particularly semaglutide.
US entertainment magazine Variety published an investigation in September that suggested A-list actors were using the jabs to stay as skinny as possible. ‘Styling teams for celebrities have come to accept the injections as part of grooming rituals,’ it reported. ‘It has become the worst-kept secret in Hollywood.’
‘It is similar to what happened with HRT – people post about the benefits on social media and suddenly everyone wants to take it.
‘We have concerns about unregulated websites reselling the drug for eye-watering prices, because there is profit to be made.’
Doctors have told The Mail on Sunday of bona fide patients who have had to come off the drug as they are unable to get hold of it. ‘Without semaglutide, patients relapse – they become incredibly hungry and are drawn to consume more food,’ explains obesity expert Dr Carel le Roux, Professor of Metabolic Medicine at Ulster University. ‘They regain weight and their health suffers.’
One patient in this dire situation is 59-year-old Carol – who asked us not to reveal her surname – from Brent in North-West London. The mother-of-one struggled with her weight for much of her life and tried ‘every diet going’ without success. ‘I’ve done WeightWatchers, the Atkins, those meal replacement shakes – I’d lose a bit of weight, but then put it back on,’ she says.
Six years ago she reached 17st – which, at 5ft 5in, meant she was severely obese – and underwent gastric band surgery. She lost three stone, but found she was unable to resist snacking, adding: ‘I craved sweet foods, like biscuits and chocolate.’
In June, suffering from chronic backache and asthma symptoms, she was offered a private prescription for semaglutide. ‘I needed to do something to control my appetite, so I agreed,’ she says. ‘It worked. Before, I’d feel hungry all the time, but with the injections I’d often go all day and forget to have lunch.’
In just two months, Carol lost a stone. ‘My back was less achy and my asthma improved,’ she adds.
In September her pharmacist told her they were out of stock.
Doctors have told The Mail on Sunday of bona fide patients who have had to come off the drug as they are unable to get hold of it. ‘Without semaglutide, patients relapse – they become incredibly hungry and are drawn to consume more food,’ explains obesity expert Dr Carel le Roux, Professor of Metabolic Medicine at Ulster University. ‘They regain weight and their health suffers’
‘I’ve not been able to get hold of it since then,’ she says. ‘I’ve been to every chemist in my area, and it’s the same story. It’s really scary because I can see all the progress I’ve made being undone.’
Another patient we spoke to, who also asked us not to reveal her full name, has a two-week supply of semaglutide left and has been warned by her pharmacist that stocks are dwindling.
Daphne, 60, was first prescribed the drug last year after undergoing a kidney transplant. At her heaviest, the mother-of-two from London weighed 18st. Already suffering high blood pressure, she was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2009.
She underwent a gastric sleeve operation and lost six stone
