“Ozempic face”. cosmetic surgeons warning against the effects of a weight loss drug on the face

Ozempic keeps the ink flowing. This treatment, originally intended for people with type 2 diabetes, is stirring up Hollywood and social media for its weight-loss properties…at risk and endangering those who abuse it. In addition to the potentially serious adverse health effects that it can cause when its intake is not prescribed or regulated (gastrointestinal disorders, pancreatitis, hypoglycemia, etc.), this drug can also affect the appearance of the face. Indeed, some surgeons notice an increase in the signs of skin aging in people who have used it. They called this phenomenon “Ozempic face“.

“The Ozemic face has essentially the same characteristics that we see when patients lose weight rapidly or not,” explains Dr. Smita Ramanadham, a plastic surgeon in New Jersey, in an interview. Daily Mail: . “We see a loss of facial volume, and when we lose facial fat, we see signs like thinner cheeks, more sagging skin, and a general hollowing of the features.” And in fact. “It can make a person look older because it’s our cheek fat that makes us look younger.”

Wrinkled skin and sagging cheeks

The experts gave an interview Daily Mail: have studied the faces of some celebrities in show business who have recently lost a lot of weight, particularly due to Ozempik, such as Robbie Williams. in an interview with Times The singer said that last year he lost weight by 11 kilograms by taking anti-diabetic medicine. “You can see hollows under the eyes and cheeks, and the loss of volume causes more wrinkles. On Robi, you can see direct weight loss results,” notes Dr. Ramanadhem. “He seems like a completely different person. She has a longer face, which means the weight loss is definitely making her lose a lot of weight,” adds Dr. Decoty, a weight loss doctor who has prescribed Ozempic to thousands of patients, confirming that the fat loss is more dramatic and prolonged. basic face shape.

Doctors also point to businesswoman Sharon Osbourne as the longest-standing female example of Ozemic face. And for good reason: in an interview Keeper In February 2024, the business woman admitted that she lost 19 kilograms in 4 months only by taking the well-known treatment. “His eyes look more sunken, his cheeks more hollow,” notes Dr. Ramanadhem, “there’s also a significant loss of facial volume and more wrinkles associated with it.” Both noted that the lines running from the sides of her nose to the corners of her mouth were now more pronounced.

However, the three experts agree that this loss of facial volume, sagging skin, and resulting wrinkles may generally be the result of radical and rapid weight loss, regardless of Ozempic. “These changes are very typical of overall weight loss, whether or not weight-loss drugs are used,” says Dr. Nicholas Jones, a plastic surgeon in Georgia.

“Enhanced control”

While the drug is taking the United States by storm, French health authorities discussed the topic in late 2022, alerting doctors and pharmacists. On March 1, 2023, the ANSM (National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products) together with Health Insurance issued a press release in which they announced that Ozempic was going to be subject to “enhanced surveillance” in France. “Reports received from the industry indicate abuse for weight loss in non-diabetic patients.s:“, we could read.

In mid-last summer, the ANSM updated its online press release about Ozempic ( archive ), explaining that “the proportion of patients receiving reimbursement for Ozempic considered to be misused increased from 0.7% in May 2022 to 1% in September . 2022 to 1.4% by the end of May 2023, recalling that “this abuse harms people with diabetes (type 2) who may have difficulty accessing their treatment.”