2023-06-22 15:17:14
Ozempic, a drug sold as a miraculous product for losing weight on social networks, is a real scourge showing our inability to treat obesity, says a lipidologist and pediatrician specializing in obesity and cardiovascular disease.
This medication is used to treat people with type 2 diabetes. It is also possible to use it to treat obesity, but with close medical monitoring.
“The miracle injection comes with professional follow-ups, said Dr. Julie St-Pierre at the microphone of Alexandre Dubé at QUB radio. If you don’t have people with you to support you, to change your lifestyle, you will see weight regain when you stop taking the medication, and even greater weight gain than before taking the medication.”
Listen to journalist Florence Lamoureux’s column explaining what Ozempic is, followed from an interview with the Dre Julie St-Pierrelipidologist and pediatrician specializing in obesity and cardiovascular disease, at the microphone ofAlexandre Dube on QUB radio:
According to the pediatrician, those who choose to take Ozempic without follow-up have a very high risk of ending up in the emergency room due to side effects and an ill-adjusted dose.
“There are so many requests for Ozempic that insurers no longer want to pay,” explains Dr. St-Pierre. We are depriving people who really need it.”
Obesity and our ability to treat it
For years, Dr. Julie St-Pierre has worked with children suffering from obesity. Even in 2023, she finds that there is still a lot of stigma towards this condition “which is not a matter of will”. According to her, the Quebec government might do more.
“I am angry! It’s been 10 years that year following year, I leave with my little fundraiser. I’m going to knock on the government’s doors to find out if the budget will be renewed for the follow-up of children suffering from obesity,” said Dr. St-Pierre.
And each time, it’s the same scenario, even if obesity is on the rise in Quebec.
“I have been made to wait for an answer for months,” she laments. My staff does not know if they will keep their jobs. Parents and children are worried regarding whether they will keep their doctor and their follow-up,” said the pediatrician.
The latter states that 80% of chronic diseases, such as a heart attack, come from obesity. Similarly, 30 types of cancer are also associated with being overweight.
“It’s disastrous to see how disempowered our society is to care for people. We are ostriches in Quebec, and we are unable to get our heads out of the sand. We have to do something and take it seriously,” she said.
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