Keeping it Together: Is Ozempic 'natural' weight loss?

Actor Josh Peck, perhaps best known for his role in Nickelodeon’s early-2000s sitcom "Drake & Josh," embarked on his weight loss journey long before weight loss medications like Wegovy and Zepbound entered the market – as did millions of others.

But Peck’s recent joke about it in a viral TikTok has fanned the flames of a heated debate: Is it “natural” to lose weight with medications like Ozempic or are people who take them “cheating” their pounds away? 

Hello, Katie Camero here, a health and wellness reporter with Paste BN. This week I explored whether there's such a thing as "fake" weight loss as more people use medications like Wegovy and Zepbound to shed some pounds.

The short video, which has been viewed more than 21 million times, shows the "How I Met Your Father" actor panning the camera around his face with a caption that reads, “When you lose 100 pounds naturally and then Ozempic.”

Many of the 11,000 people who commented on the TikTok reassured Peck that he lost weight “the right way” or the “healthy way,” which he “should be proud” of.

But there is no “right” way to lose weight, experts say. It’s not about natural versus fake, fast versus slow or disciplined versus lazy. Weight loss is complex and depends on a plethora of factors that can and cannot be controlled. Above all, a balanced diet and healthy relationship with exercise are critical, no matter how people try to lose weight. 

“People try to discount the idea that you lost weight just because you had bariatric surgery or used drugs,” said Dr. Sahar Takkouche, a bariatrician and associate professor of medicine with the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “But there’s no such thing as fake weight loss. The bottom line is that every case is different and the things that work for some people might not work for others.”

Continue reading to learn more about why some people benefit from taking weight loss drugs and what increased accessibility to these medications has done to the body positivity movement.

Before you enjoy the rest of your weekend, check out some of the other work my team published this week.