When Wegovy (which contains the same active ingredient, semaglutide, in a higher concentration) was made available in Germany, he immediately took it. 'It worked well,' Lang says. Without implementing lifestyle changes, he quickly shed weight and is now at 105kg. Ozempic and Wegovy mimic a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 which targets parts of the brain that regulate appetite. The hormone slows down the rate of 'gastric emptying', which means people feel fuller and have less desire to eat. It also encourages the body to break down fat.

Mounjaru, a diabetes drug produced by Eli Lilly, an American drugmaker, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in May for diabetes and is expected to expand to weight loss soon. Novo Nordisk is currently advancing its next-generation offerings with high hopes for CagriSema, another obesity drug, currently in phase 3 development. Amgen, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer as well as smaller biotech companies are racing to develop new drugs as well. Appetite-suppressing drugs have generated popular excitement, and endless coverage in mainstream media, but potential side effects and addiction issues mean the drug revolution is not happening without concerns. Globally, obesity rates have almost tripled since 1975. The Covid pandemic compounded this problem. A 2022 World Health Organisation report estimated that 59 percent of adults in the European region are overweight or obese.