Amy Kane was 13 when she was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, a hormonal imbalance that can cause rapid weight gain. At 17, she was pre-diabetic, and when she reached adulthood and had three children, she knew she needed a change. But he wasn't sold on Ozempic, a weight-loss drug that had recently hit the market that people were calling a “miracle cure.”
“I wasn't the kind of person who walked into my office and wanted you to write me a script for Ozempic,” Kane says. Rolling rock. “I was actually quite hesitant. I have a long history of disordered eating because I struggled so much with my weight and thought [the medicine] it was going to make me starve. And that wasn't the end goal I wanted to achieve.”
Once Kane started scrolling through TikTok and engaging with other creators who were taking similar drugs — known as semaglutide or GLP-1 drugs — she decided to “take the plunge” and get a prescription for Mounjaro. She has since lost 160 pounds in 15 months and joined the ranks of thousands of creators on TikTok who post content related to their drug-assisted weight loss journeys. However, under TikTok's new guidelines, which went into effect on May 17, the app no longer allows videos promoting slimming drugs, weight loss, or content that could be good “occasionally but problematic in groups” . And many GLP-1 content creators say Rolling rock they believe the new rules won't help young users stay safe — they'll just keep users away from the information they need.
Ozempic, a type of semaglutide first released in 2017, mimics the body's GLP-1 hormone, which regulates blood sugar, controls appetite and delays stomach emptying. Although it was first developed as a complementary treatment for diabetes, it quickly became popular for its weight loss side effect. Others began to flood the market. Demand for semaglutide drugs has doubled since 2021 and has caused pharmaceutical companies to overspend 5 billion dollars in sales last year. While Ozempic became an award-winning and constant topic on talk shows, online, creators steadily gained a following by talking about their experience with the drug, tracking weight loss and, in some cases, earning money from affiliate links. But as TikTok begins removing content surrounding Ozempic from its For You pages, GLP-1 creators say they're being unfairly forced to choose between talking about their journeys or following the rules.
“I thought I was the only one who had these obsessions with food. I thought I was the only one who struggled with food addiction or who couldn't lose weight. Having people connect with me on that level has been life-changing, not just for me but for other people as well,” Kane says. “I struggle with this idea that I'm influencing people to take a drug. I'm not promoting anything. I'm sharing my journey to combat the negativity surrounding these drugs.”
The company's website says it wants the app to be “a place that encourages self-esteem and doesn't promote negative social comparisons.” When reached for comment from Rolling rock, a TikTok spokesperson addressed the new guidelines, saying the policies were expanded primarily to prevent the sale of weight-loss or performance-enhancing drugs on the site — and still allow people to share their weight-loss journeys as long as they're not extreme. , dangerous or associated with the use of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss. Maria Rising, creator of GLP-1 on TikTok, says she understands the push to protect teens from negative body image. But he says Rolling rock that the new guidelines unfairly target GLP-1 makers without understanding what most of them are doing. He adds that removing access to the For You page (which is the main way TikTok users find creators and their videos) means you're only keeping people from a community who might need them.
“When I started, I was nauseous. My doctors had prescribed meds for nausea. But people were like, 'Try this ginger mint they have at Trader Joe's, it helps me a lot and it fits in your wallet,'” says Rising. “This is such great information. These are the little lifestyle tips that you don't necessarily get from a doctor, but you will from the TikTok community.”
TikTok has a review process that allows creators to appeal the removal or de-monetization of a video. But Ashley Raibick, another GLP-1 influencer, believes the new rules will force GLP-1 content creators to continually reapply to reinstate their content — which could force the bills block the application completely. “I honestly feel so sad that TikTok is canceling Ozempic content,” says Raibick. “The content I've created around this drug is much more than just weight loss. I've created a community of people who needed someone they could relate to, someone who didn't shame this drug or put it down or make them feel bad for being overweight or struggling with obesity.”
TikTok's concern is not unfounded. Dozens of peer reviews have found that social media use has a clear negative impact on users' mental health and body image, especially for social media users under 18. Merris Taylor, a registered dietitian from Texas, knows that her weight and work have often interacted in complicated ways. But when the 32-year-old started taking a GLP-1 drug and looking at content about it online, she realized a lot of misinformation was being spread, sometimes even by the well-meaning creators of Ozempic. She created a TikTok account focused on the nutrition your body needs while on medication, complete with videos about her own experience. Since the new guidelines, Taylor has simply moved most of her content to Instagram, where parent company Meta has more lenient rules about weight loss posts. But, he says rolling rock, she's nervous that the loss of TikTok as a platform could mean that data controls won't reach the people who need them most.
“TikTok is such a great place for people to spread the word,” Taylor says. “People will miss out on important information about these drugs.”
However, since the new guidelines, dozens of GLP-1 creators have spoken out about declining engagement, including removing videos or inappropriate monetization. Some who spoke to me Rolling rock also expressed general confusion about how the guidelines are implemented or why they exist. References to Washington Post and The New York Times have speculated that the new guidelines may be in response to the rise of the compound semaglutide, sales of which are thriving on TikTok through affiliate programs. Compounded versions of semaglutide are compounded by a pharmacist but not manufactured by a brand-name company, which the FDA has warned could cause adverse and dangerous side effects if made by a pharmacy with poor standards. In May, a New York woman who sold Ozempic through TikTok was was arrested for selling “false and adulterated” versions of the drug — exposing a victim to multidrug-resistant mycobacteria, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. (He has not entered a plea).
Kane acknowledges that the situation becomes much murkier when popular influencers have a financial interest in their followers taking semaglutide, even if it's an unsafe version. She has her own medication prescribed by her doctor, and as a diabetic, she gets each dose for about $25 — so she's never been tempted to explore the world of compounding. However, while she is quick to encourage her viewers to try to get legal prescriptions, she is reluctant to speak ill of creators who use the affiliate link to afford their drugs. Kane knows that social media can have an effect on people's body image. That's why she's so committed to sharing her journey — and why she thinks TikTok's new guidelines will only hurt people in the long run.
“So many of us have been shamed and made to feel bad about our weight our whole lives. We felt it was our fault. Struggling with your weight in a society that favors smaller bodies can lead to feelings of loneliness and immense shame,” Kane says. “I think the fact that there is a community of people who 'get it' and are working to reduce the shame around weight struggles and GLP1s is very powerful. I never feel like I'm promoting a drug. I am sharing my story.”
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ozempic-influencers-tiktok-weight-loss-guidelines-1235029891/
