Hannah and Jon Gosselin, who are known for previously appearing on the TLC reality show Jon & Kate Plus Eight, recently opened up about their weight loss journey. While it is wonderful that the pair are taking charge of their health and both feel more confident, their story was concerning, given the involvement of the weight loss drug semaglutide.
Semaglutide is also known by its brand names Ozempic and Wegovy and was initially approved as a diabetes treatment, though it has since become known as a weight loss drug. The drug is relatively new, only having been approved by the FDA in 2017. However, in just a few short years, it has become one of the most popular prescription drugs in America. Essentially, it works by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone, which can induce the body to produce insulin and send signals to the brain to decrease appetite and prolong feelings of fullness.
The drug has become quite controversial, especially because many celebrities are paying their way to the prescription that they may not need. On top of that, many doctors are getting quite loose in prescribing the drug to people who may only be mildly overweight and have no underlying health issues. Meanwhile, Hannah may be evidence of how doctors are open to prescribing weight loss drugs even to people who are young and healthy.
Jon and Hannah Gosselin open up on their health journey
Since the family's reality TV show ended, Jon, his ex-wife Kate, and their children have kept mainly out of the public eye. However, Hannah and Jon recently sat down for a rare interview with Entertainment Tonight. The pair opened up about their health journey, revealing that they lost a combined 75 pounds by watching their diet, exercising, and receiving semaglutide prescriptions.
They both expressed feeling much better and more confident, with Hannah explaining how the confidence boost helped her partake in more social activities, such as going to the pool or the beach. It seems both of them have had a positive experience with weight loss. However, the mention of semaglutide is a bit concerning for someone as young and healthy as Hannah. Hannah only recently turned 20, meaning she was about 18 - 19 when she began taking the weight loss drug.
While she was of the legal age to take the drug, many readers likely found the report perplexing because there's little evidence such drastic measures were necessary. To be clear, if she wants to lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle, it is absolutely her choice. However, based on photos and videos she has posted over the years, she has always been a healthy weight. Photos from the first day of school to graduation and birthdays on both her and Jon's Instagrams confirm she looked very happy and healthy. For her, weight loss would likely be optional, not so urgent that it required medication.
Should doctors be giving weight loss prescriptions to healthy people?
Again, Hannah is just an example in this case. This isn't meant to criticize her in any way but to question why a doctor prescribed weight loss medication to a healthy teenager and just how often this happens. Unfortunately, given reports of numerous celebrities on weight loss drugs, it seems that anyone who has the money can secure a prescription regardless of necessity.
It's quite apparent that weight loss drugs have become more about profit than actually helping people. Numerous concerning stories have arisen of doctors prescribing weight-loss drugs to teenage girls without FDA approval and sending these drugs off to anyone who completes a telehealth survey. What happens when these drugs start getting into the hands of individuals who have eating disorders? What happens if, somewhere down the line, devastating long-term health effects of these drugs are discovered? How are we ensuring doctors are prescribing out of necessity and not bias?
What's so concerning about doctors flippantly prescribing weight loss drugs to teens who don't need them is that they're pretty much prescribing these drugs for life. It's well-known that most people regain weight once they stop taking the drugs. So, doctors may be setting up healthy teenagers like Hannah to take an expensive and relatively new drug from age 18 into the foreseeable future without even knowing the long-term effects.
I find it strange how no one is making the connection between the Pain Hustlers story and weight loss drugs. The movie tells the true story of a pharmaceutical company that began prescribing everyone fentanyl-based pain medications. They handed out a highly addictive and potent drug to people who come in with something as minor as a toothache because it turned a profit. Then, a few years down the line, the company was facing lawsuits for causing thousands of deaths. Similarly, we now have people filling out telehealth surveys or walking into doctors' offices looking to lose an optional 5 - 10 pounds and being instantly handed prescription weight loss drugs that they don't need. What could go wrong?
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