The Fat Doctor

NICE has officially approved the use of Semaglutide 2.4mg (Wegovy) as a weight loss injection for anyone with a BMI of 35 or more.  In some cases you can be smaller and still be entitled to it (for example if you’re diabetic or you’re Black) even though there is really no evidence to support this. But no one seems to be talking about the hidden dangers, and this doctor wants you to know why. 

Here are some simple facts that the makers of Wegovy don’t want you to know:

1. Weight loss is most noticeable in the first 6 months and reaches its nadir (peak) around the 1 year mark.  From then on you will start to regain weight no matter how long you remain on it. 
2. Upon stopping Wegovy, not only is weight regain inevitable but it occurs at a rate fasted than anything we have seen before. We have no idea how this will impact the body in the long term, even though several studies suggest that rapid weight loss followed by rapid weight gain has several negative implications and worsens health outcomes. 
3. It appears as though weight loss patterns with Wegovy are similar to that which we see in all other forms of intnetional weight loss. People who only take it for 2 years (which is as long as NICE has licenced it for) will have inevitably regained all the weight within 5 years, and up to 2/3 will end up heavier than when they first started.  Moreover, one of the Wegovy studies (Step 5) showed a 2.5% weight gain within 36 weeks of continual Wegovy use during the second year, and if this were to continue at the same rate then even people who remain on Wegovy for 5 years will find that they have regained all the weight loss during that time period. 
4. There is no evidence that Wegovy improves your physical health. In fact, NICE made it clear that Novo Nordisk were unable to provide any convincing evidence that Wegovy would improve cardiovascular outcomes (and yet they still approved it).
5. We have no idea how much damage this drug is going to cause in the long term. Forget about the known side effects (including nausea, abdominal pain, headache, dizzines, acute pancreatitis and a rare type of thyroid cancer). I’m talking about the unknown side effects.  This drug has never been given to anyone at such high doses, let alone non diabetics for longer than 2 years. Its long term safety is completely unknown.  

Now here are some facts that NICE don’t want you to know:

1. Every single individual involved in the sharing information portion of the guidelines process was nominated by Novo Nordisk (the creators of Wegovy) themselves, or by a “charity” (Obesity UK) that is funded by Novo Nordisk.
2. All of the information that they gathered was not only steeped in bias but was also part of a larger PR campaign that has existed for over a decade. 
3. NICE did not even consider the impact this drug will have on weight cycling, mental health, eating disorders etc.
4. Novo Nordisk has been behaving unethically for some time now and has been getting away with the occasional apology but nothing more. 

Make no mistakes, the medical profession continues to be complicit in these unethical practices.  From large organisations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, Diabetes UK, the CDC and even the UN, to individual practitioners. Dr Spencer Nadolsky, a well known social media influencer who has been praising Wegovy since it was first approved in the US, dimissed the concerns of anyone that has raised issues with the ethics of his practice (myself included).

He has repeatedly denied any links to Novo Nordisk (even though he has been to a number of their training events). Last week, WW bought Dr Nadolskys online health Platform Sequence Health for over $100 million. What does Sequence Health do? They are a Telehealth company that prescribe Wegovy (and other similar weight loss drugs) to clients. 

He is just one of the many “influencers” that have been bought an paid for by Novo Nordisk.  In fact, as we speak, the drug company is apporaching people online to see if they will promote their product.  They don’t have to have taken it – they just have to say it works in exchange for money. 

They have been buying doctors for a lot longer.