- James Corden said Ozempic didn’t help him lose weight because he doesn’t just eat when he’s hungry.
- Ozempic, a brand name for the drug semaglutide, works by suppressing appetite.
- But Ozempic does not address the root cause of consumption behavior or change it, experts say.
James Corden has spoken about his experience using Ozempic, a diabetes drug that has become a household name in recent years thanks to its success as a treatment for obesity.
The British comedian and actor, 46, said on a recent episode of his SiriusXM podcast, “This Life of Mine With James Corden,” that he’s tried taking Ozempic for weight loss — but it appears he hasn’t reaped the same benefits as other high-profile drug users like Elon Musk.
The former “The Late Late Show” host said Ozempic, which works by suppressing appetite, didn’t have much effect on him because of his complicated relationship with food.
“I tried Ozempic, and you won’t be surprised when you look at me now, that it didn’t really work,” he told People. “I tried it for a while and then I realized I was like, ‘Oh no, eating has nothing to do with being hungry.’
“All it does is make you not feel hungry,” he continued, adding that he eats “very rarely” simply because he feels hungry.
“You’re looking at someone who has eaten a king size – and when I say a king size Dairy Milk, the kind you give to someone for Christmas – at a car wash,” he added. “None of it was like, ‘Oh, I’m so hungry.’ It’s not that, it’s something else.”
The active ingredient in Ozempic is semaglutide, an injectable medicine that helps people feel full by mimicking the hormone GLP-1. Brand names for the drug, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, have grown in popularity in recent years.
Common side effects of taking the drug include nausea and diarrhea, but some people may also regain weight after stopping treatment.
Ozempic does not address or change the root cause of eating behavior
For those who have a more complex relationship with food and perhaps struggle with emotional eating, Ozempic may not be the answer.
Brianna Paruolo, a licensed psychiatrist based in New York, told Business Insider that since Ozempic works primarily by suppressing appetite and slowing digestion, it won’t help someone whose eating problems stem from an underlying emotional problem.
“For individuals who use food as an emotional coping tool, simply reducing physical hunger (as Ozempic does) does not address the root of their eating behavior,” Paruolo said.
“Emotional eating is a complex behavior that often has little to do with physical hunger cues. It’s a way of coping with emotions, stress or past trauma,” she added.
Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy. UCG
Emotional eating can also lead to eating disorders such as binge eating.
After semaglutide was originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes, a metabolic disorder, Sarah Boss, a clinical psychiatrist and director of The Balance Rehabilitation Center, said Ozempic and other similar drugs “tend to interfere with our very sensitive metabolism. system.”
Taking it “runs the risk of exacerbating the underlying problem the person is experiencing with their disordered eating,” Boss said.
“It is imperative to address the root cause of emotional eating with a mental health professional to slowly adapt to new behaviors rather than go for the quick fix that everyone in today’s society is looking for now,” she added.
Paruolo said those who struggle with emotional eating or binge eating are better off using a combination of mental health support, nutritional counseling and other medical help to reach their weight loss goals.
Doctors have also warned against using diet pills like Ozempic as a “quick fix”.
England’s National Health Service (NHS) chief medical officer, Stephen Powis, said in June that while such drugs “will be a powerful part of our obesity arsenal,” they should not be “overused.”
“Drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy, should only be used by people who have been prescribed them for obesity or diabetes. I am concerned about reports that people are abusing them – they are not intended as a quick fix for people trying to “Coast body ready,” he added.