Galway author’s book tackles the Ozempic debate

With powerful testimonies from some of the earliest Ozempic users, her debut book ‘Off the Scales’ questions whether these weight-loss drugs are too good to be true.

A Reuters columnist, Aimee delves into the decades-long scientific effort behind the drugs that target the GLP-1 hormone, to reduce appetite and body weight.

“It is a treatment, not a cure,” she says.

“Research is showing that if people don’t stay on these drugs, all the problems they had before revert back. They don’t rewire their habits.”

Those she spoke to for the book were honest about their weight issues and the other side effects that come with the injection.

“They were very revealing about how their weight has affected them over the years,” she says.

“One of the side effects of going on the drug is the loss of muscle mass. If you are going on and off it, it’s far worse than a crash diet.

“Studies suggest that you can lose 25 per cent of muscle mass with a normal diet. On these drugs, it’s up to 40 per cent. Which is huge for older people.

“There are gastric side-effects to Ozempic and other weight-loss injections, including nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting. These things do settle down, but in extreme cases, people can become very sick.”

She warns that people need to be careful when it comes to administering the drug.

“That’s one of the key messages of the book,” she explains.

Caption: Author Aimee Donnellan.

Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie.