Ozempic not a ‘quick fix’ for weight loss despite popularity: doctors

Many Canadian obesity specialists and endocrinologists are welcoming Ozempic as a drug that actually works in treating what they say is a genetic, medical condition.

Kerry Toneguzzi has tried everything to lose weight.

From low-calorie and liquid diets to WeightWatchers, nothing worked. In 2007, she had bariatric surgery and lost 100 pounds — only to gain it all back.

When she was diagnosed with diabetes in the fall of 2020, her doctor suggested she try Ozempic — a drug approved in Canada to treat diabetes, with a frequent side effect of weight loss.

“In the beginning, I didn’t think it would ever work for me because nothing really had worked for me,” Toneguzzi, 55, said.

But it did. The Ottawa-area insurance underwriter lost 115 pounds over about two years. What she finds even more remarkable is that she hasn’t gained any of it back.

Like Toneguzzi, many Canadian obesity specialists and endocrinologists are welcoming Ozempic as a drug that actually works in treating what they say is a genetic, medical condition.

“We’ve failed to have success in pharmacotherapy until now,” said Dr. Sean Wharton, an internal medicine specialist who runs a weight and diabetes management clinic in Burlington, Ont.

With the advent of Ozempic, people living with obesity finally have a drug that can make a difference and can be an alternative to bariatric surgery, he said.