Ozempic, Wegovy and the weight of the unknown

This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of the most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion publishes each week based on [Bloomberg]( This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of the most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion publishes each week based on web readership. Consumer industries — especially in the [food and beverage sector]( — have been watching the meteoric rise in popularity of drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy with deep interest. Health professionals have both been cautiously [singing the praises]( of this class of medications, known as GLP-1 agonists, and [navigating shortages]( due to the exponential growth in demand from people hoping to lose weight. Those same professionals are still learning about the [complexity of obesity](: what causes it, how to prevent it and how to treat it in the long term. They’re also well aware of the drugs’ uncomfortable side effects, [social media’s influence]( on potential patients and, well, all the [coverage]( in the [news]( media. And then there are consumers of the drugs themselves, a group I recently joined when my doctor prescribed Wegovy for weight loss (after years of discussions about weight-loss strategies and treatments, as well as multiple full medical workups, mind you). Lisa Jarvis poses one question I’ve asked myself a lot since I began my injections: [Will I have to take it forever](? Doctors have stressed from the beginning that GLP-1 agonists are not miracle drugs. Users will get the most out of them by implementing healthy lifestyle changes, too. That appears to be sparking some changes in consumer habits: But Andrea Felsted and Leticia Miranda write that any [panic on the part of the food industry]( is overblown — and we’re simply too early in the conversation to make any conclusions yet about anything. We don’t know how many people will actually end up sticking with one of these weight-loss drugs once they get their hands on it; eating healthfully also tends to be a pricier proposition, so food companies might not lose out at all. On a recent night out with friends at a longtime [favorite haunt](, I’m sure there was some surprise around the table when I ate far less than usual and abstained from that extra glass of wine. The [restaurant might not appreciate]( how much less I ate, but bringing home leftovers for once was a pretty nice side effect. More Weight-Loss Reading: - [Ozempic Cuts Alcohol Cravings. Liquor Companies Aren’t Ready.]( — Lisa Jarvis and Leticia Miranda - [Ozempic Is Bad for Business]( — Matt Levine - [Insurers Can’t Avoid Covering Weight-Loss Drugs Forever]( — Lisa Jarvis - [Obesity Drugs Won’t Work If No One Can Afford Them]( — Bloomberg’s editorial board - [Eli Lilly’s New Weight-Loss Drug Is Even Better Than Ozempic]( — Lisa Jarvis More From Bloomberg Opinion Here’s what we’ve been listening to this week. - [Crash Course: What Purpose Does Polling Serve Ahead of 2024?]( with Timothy L. O’Brien - [Bloomberg Opinion: The Latest Vaccine Rollout and Science Celebrities]( with Claudia Sahm, Sarah Green Carmichael, Lisa Jarvis and F.D. Flam Follow Us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](