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“Oh-oh-ozempic!” …or Mounjaro…or Wegovy. These trending weight loss meds have long been in the pharmacy for Type 2 diabetes patients (and in our TV commercials). In recent months, however, they’ve taken the medical world by storm, and not just for their ability to manage blood sugar. Instead, we’ve discovered that when paired with regular diet and exercise, the drug known generically as semaglutide can produce drastic weight loss results (ever heard of Kim Kardashian and the Marilyn Monroe dress?).
But it’s not just for aesthetic reasons that this med has shown such strong promise. It’s what it means for preventative medicine and improved quality of life for those suffering from chronic illnesses that turned the heads at ZüpMed.
So today, we’re giving you the bad news first, but don’t worry – the good news is absolutely revolutionary.
The Bad News
First thing’s first. Weight gain and obesity have long been on the rise in the United States, and if you’re like us, you’re no stranger to the toll these conditions tend to take on our friends, family members, and, on occasion, even ourselves. In fact, very few men and women are of normal weight. Over 40% of U.S. adults are considered obese (add to that being “overweight,” and we reach almost 70%), according to the CDC. This staggering number shows just how common this condition really is, but the implications of epidemic-level obesity are even more sinister.
Cardiometabolic Risk
Here’s the cold, hard truth: the higher a person’s body mass index (BMI) or the larger their waist circumference, the higher their risk of chronic illness and premature death. Cardiometabolic conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, inflammation, and insulin resistance are compounding factors that feed into one another and wreak havoc on the body.
Over time, these weight-related issues grow into more than just a number on a scale or a percentage on a chart. They lead to challenges that decrease your overall quality of life, often for good.
High Blood Pressure
Excess weight makes it harder for your heart to pump blood, which can increase blood pressure. In turn, high blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Insulin Resistance and Diabetes
Obesity can lead to insulin resistance, a condition where your blood cells no longer respond well to insulin. This can cause blood sugar levels to rise, leading to Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes then increases your risk of heart disease and stroke.
High Cholesterol
Being overweight or obese can contribute to higher levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol and triglycerides and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good”) cholesterol. This unfavorable lipid profile increases the risk of atherosclerosis, where fatty deposits build up in the arteries, increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Inflammation
Obesity can lead to a state of chronic, low-grade inflammation in the body, which can damage blood vessels over time and increase your risk of heart disease
See the pattern?
A Reactive Medical Approach
Physicians have known and understood obesity and its associated health risks for a long time, but overcoming it – and dare we mention, preventing it – has been the task of the century. The truly unfortunate problem with most obesity-related issues is that many patients don’t seek the care they need until their conditions are irreversible, and many insurance providers wouldn’t pay for preventative treatment even if they did.
Once conditions like diabetes or inflammation take hold, they permanently alter the way the body functions, leaving doctors with only one option: treating the symptoms of the illness and not the root cause. Or, as Shannon’s Dad would say, “The horse has already left the barn.”
The Good News
Okay, now you can breathe – here comes the good news. Enter the medicines of the hour: semaglutide and tirzepatide.
Almost overnight, these agents have ushered in hope for a new era of preventative medicine. Rather than waiting to address the symptomatic conditions associated with weight gain, medicines like Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy, and their generic equivalents are making it possible to reduce these risks before irreversible damage occurs.
By mimicking your body’s natural hormone production, semaglutide and tirzepatide decrease your appetite and make you feel fuller for longer periods of time after eating. Paired with regular exercise and a low-calorie diet, semaglutide can help patients drop significant amounts of weight. And tirzepatide has shown even more weight loss than semaglutide in clinical trials.
These subcutaneous injections imitate naturally-occurring glucagon-like peptide 1 receptors (GLP-1) in your small intestine. When stimulated, GLP-1 receptors signal your body to produce more insulin, slow digestion, and hit satiation receptors that give your brain that full and satisfied feeling for a short period following a meal.
Since we’ve implemented the drug in our patients’ weight loss plans, ZüpMed’s in-house clinical trials found a whopping 70% reversal of prediabetes diagnoses in patients taking semaglutide or tirzepatide – and that’s after only a few months of taking the drug.
Why should I come to ZüpMed for weight loss treatment?
We’re so glad you asked. Although many aestheticians or similar providers may offer ways to get semaglutide prescriptions, the FDA warns the consumer that some compounded formulations may not be the generic equivalent and may contain ingredients that have not been evaluated for efficacy and safety.
While compounded versions are allowable during official drug shortages, it’s always best to have a lengthy discussion before starting any medication. A close relationship with your provider ensures that proper monitoring can occur, and there’s no better way to optimize your total health care than with the ZüpMed team. Our medical providers are trained, experienced, board-certified, and 100% committed to disease prevention.
Our holistic approach means we don’t just tick off the pounds as they drop from the scale – we monitor your overall health, which includes regularly checking cardiometabolic markers to ensure we’re lowering your risk and improving your quality of life. We’ve even been able to reduce the need for additional chronic medications (like blood pressure meds) because, for some, the weight loss achieved reverses the need for them.
Will insurance cover my weight loss treatment?
If you’re in need of preventative weight loss treatment, the ZüpMed team will start with a full overview of your health. If insurance does not cover semaglutide or tirzepatide, we still have options. Our team of pharmacists is expert at this, and we will work to optimize your medications based on your unique needs, helping you every step of the way.
ZüpMed: Intentionally Different Medical Care
Perhaps the best news of all is that you don’t have to be Kim Kardashian to take advantage of this preventative promise. You just need to visit our award-winning ZüpMed team, where we’ll monitor your health every step of the way so that you get the attention, direction, and life-changing results you deserve. If you’re ready to learn the power of intentionally different medical care, just give us a call.
