Wegovy and Similar Weight-Loss Drugs May Increase Risk of Eating Disorders, Doctors Tell NBC News

Patients with eating disorders taking Wegovy and Zepbound may end up taking too much of the drugs, or experience other severe side effects.

According to a recent report by NBC News, there are growing concerns that the use of weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound could trigger, or worsen, eating disorders in the patients using them.

Wegovy (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide) belong to a class of medications known as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), which have become blockbuster treatments for treatment of obesity.

Both drugs are based on medications originally approved for diabetes treatment, with Wegovy being the weight loss version of Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, and Zepbound contains the same active ingredient as Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro.

Over the past few years, GLP1-RA medications have been used by millions of Americans to delay gastric emptying and promote weight loss. However, there have been growing concerns over the side effects of these medications.

Concerns Over GLP-1 Side Effects

Although advertisements promote the drugs as safe and effective, with few long-term side effects, GLP1 RAs have been linked to a number of potentially serious health risks, including gastroparesis, and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) vision problems, which can cause sudden vision loss due to a lack of blood flow to the optic nerve.

As a result of the drug makers’ failure to adequately warn about these risks, thousands of former users are now pursuing Ozempic lawsuits, Wegovy lawsuits and Mounjaro lawsuits against the manufacturers, each raising similar allegations that the manufacturers placed a desire for increased profits above consumer safety by failing to research and adequately disclose side effects users may experience.

The NBC News report indicates that, in addition to the previous concerns, more and more doctors are trying to raise the alarm over rising reports of eating disorders, like anorexia, which could be the result of dietary restrictions that come as part of treatment regimen.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder caused by an intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted self-body image. This can lead to individuals starving themselves to maintain lower-than-normal body weight, or undertaking too much exercise designed to shed pounds. They also may purge food they have recently eaten through deliberate vomiting or through the use of laxatives.

According to experts interviewed for the report, some people’s brains may interpret the reduced caloric intake and weight loss as starvation, and those compelled to eat less may spiral into unhealthy habits.

In February, researchers from the University of Cincinnati, led by Dr. Susan McElroy, warned about the potential eating disorder risks in a case study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. The report looked at an incident involving a woman diagnosed with an eating disorder for 28 years, who had been prescribed a GLP-1 drug for weight loss.

The woman indicated that, despite losing 50 pounds in nine months, she sometimes took more of the medication than prescribed when she felt like she had eaten too much. The researchers called on doctors to screen and monitor patients for eating disorders before prescribing the drugs.

McElroy and other health experts are calling for more research on the link between side effects of Wegovy. Zepbound and eating disorders.

August 2024 GLP-1 RA Lawsuits Update

Given the widespread use of Wegovy, Zepbound and other GLP1-RA medications, thousands of individuals are now pursuing failure to warn lawsuits against the manufacturers, each raising similar allegations that they experienced severe gastrointestinal problems or vision loss after using the medications.

To help manage and coordinate pretrial proceedings, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation established a GLP-1 RA drug lawsuits earlier this year, centralizing claims brought throughout the federal court system in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Last month, the judge now presiding over the litigation issued a pretrial order authorizing the direct filing of new GLP-1 lawsuits in the federal MDL, which will avoid delays associated with transferring claims from various different federal district courts nationwide.

As part of the coordinated management of the growing litigation, it is expected that the parties will identify a small group of “bellwether” cases to prepare for early trial dates, which will help gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the claims.

However, if the parties are unable to negotiate GLP1 settlements or another resolution for the litigation following any early test trials, each individual lawsuit may later be remanded back to the U.S. District Court where it was originally filed for a separate trial date in the future.