IMA President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Varon joined The National News Desk to discuss the long-term safety of GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Dr. Varon doesn’t dismiss their benefits, but he cautions that they lack the decades of safety data available for other medications. Two or three years after stopping, some of his patients still get diarrhea every time they eat, a problem even his gastroenterologist colleagues say they don’t know how to fix.
Sixty years ago, 13 percent of Americans were obese. Today, Dr. Varon notes, that number is more than 40 percent, even though our genetics haven’t changed. In his view, medicine has become very good at treating obesity and now needs to get better at preventing it, especially since the weight comes back when people stop the drugs. For those dealing with side effects, he recommends eating smaller meals, avoiding very fatty foods, staying hydrated, and getting enough protein, because people lose muscle, not just fat.
Check out these related resources from IMA below, followed by the full segment transcript.
Transcript
Jan Jeffcoat: GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have changed the way Americans are fighting obesity. But as these drugs become a mainstream treatment, there are still growing questions about their long-term impact.
Joining us now is Dr. Joseph Varon, President and Chief Medical Officer of the Independent Medical Alliance. Good morning to you, Dr. Varon.
We know obesity itself is linked to several types of cancer and other health issues, but with millions of Americans now taking GLP-1 drugs, how much do we really know about their long-term safety? You mentioned that you’ve already seen some of the effects in some of your own patients, because these medications do carry serious risks.
Dr. Joseph Varon: That’s an excellent question. The history of medicine teaches us that we must distinguish between what we know and what we’re yet to know.
You know that obesity increases the chance of having cancer, in 13 different types of cancers. But we also know that these medications may help you. What we don’t know is the safety data from decades of other medications.
We know, for example, that in animal models there is an increase in the type of thyroid cancer that you can see. But I have seen a lot of long-term complications on people that were on a GLP-1, even after they stopped the GLP-1.
Jan Jeffcoat: What were some of those effects that you saw?
Dr. Joseph Varon: I’ve seen everything. I have had patients that anything that they eat will get them to go immediately to the bathroom, that they will have diarrhea, even though they had stopped these medications two and three years ago.
Jan Jeffcoat: So these medications carry some very serious risks. And this is something they can’t fix, they can’t change? They constantly are going to the bathroom after getting off of the drug?
Dr. Joseph Varon: Correct. And that’s a problem. Even my associate friends who are gastroenterologists, they said, “We don’t know what to do with these people. We have to give them now medication to prevent them from having to run to the bathroom every time they eat.”
Jan Jeffcoat: So tell us, first of all, how do these medications work, and what does the research tell us about their benefits, both for weight loss and overall health? And how do you weigh those unknown dangers against the obvious dangers of obesity?
Dr. Joseph Varon: Well, these medications, what they do is they mimic hormones that you normally have in your intestines that communicate with the brain, and they regulate appetite, fullness, and blood sugar.
So we know that, for example, semaglutide can give you 15 percent weight loss. And some of the other agents can bring you down by 20 percent. So you are going to lose weight. There is no question about that. They are very powerful medications. I don’t dismiss their benefits.
But the problem is that, again, our genetics haven’t changed. We have many more people today that are obese than 60 years ago. Sixty years ago, 13 percent of the population was obese. Now it’s more than 40 percent of the population in the United States.
So we have become very good at treating obesity. What we need now to become better at is preventing it. That’s what we need to do.
Jan Jeffcoat: And this is something that you don’t think is preventing it long term. When people get off of it, they gain the weight right back.
Dr. Joseph Varon: Correct.
Jan Jeffcoat: Have you found anything that works for patients who are dealing with some of the terrible side effects from the medication? And is there harm, especially for those patients that you have who now have the opposite when they get off of it? You said they have uncontrolled diarrhea that never goes away. Can they just stay on the medication? What are the side effects from doing that?
Dr. Joseph Varon: Well, one of the things that we have told our patients is: avoid big meals, try having smaller meals, avoid very fatty foods. Stay hydrated. That’s important.
And understand that when you are losing weight, you are not just losing fat weight. You are also losing muscle weight. So a lot of people lose weight, and that’s why they have the face that looks kind of sucked in and things like that.
So you have to be careful how you approach this. Make sure that they take the right amount of protein. Those are the things that I ask my patients to do.
Jan Jeffcoat: All right. Dr. Joseph Varon, we appreciate you joining us this morning here on The National News Desk. And for more information, you can also visit imahealth.org. Have a good one.
Dr. Joseph Varon: Have a good one.
