Dr. Patricia Westmoreland, medical director of the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders & Severe Malnutrition at Denver Health, has raised concerns about the impact of popular weight loss medications on patients being treated for eating disorders.
“It’s really becoming a big problem,” said Dr. Westmoreland, who oversees the center, which helps patients with severe eating disorders and related medical complications. She explained that some patients are trying medications like Wegovy, which is intended for weight loss, either from family members or through doctors who fail to recognize the patients’ eating disorders.
She noted that while approximately 10% of her patients have been impacted by these medications, that number is growing.
In interviews with CBS News Colorado, Dr. Westmoreland emphasized how the trend of using weight loss drugs, particularly ones like Wegovy and Ozempic, is troubling. She explained that patients sometimes seek out these medications without understanding the risks, encouraged by the influence of celebrities who publicly advocate for them. These medications are designed for conditions like obesity or diabetes, not for the treatment of eating disorders, yet they are sometimes prescribed off-label for weight loss.
Maggie O’Rourke, a 47-year-old woman recovering from anorexia, shared her experience with the impact of weight loss drug marketing. O’Rourke showed CBS News Colorado an email she received offering to have Ozempic delivered to her home. Although Ozempic is not approved for weight loss, some doctors prescribe it for this purpose. O’Rourke, who has struggled with an eating disorder since childhood, expressed shock upon receiving the email.
“I was like, you have to be kidding,” said O’Rourke, who has never used Ozempic or Wegovy but understands why such medications are attractive to young women. “People want to be thin and beautiful,” she reflected, urging women to embrace their natural beauty.
O’Rourke’s personal story serves as a powerful reminder of the mental health struggles tied to eating disorders. After spending years hiding her condition, she checked into the ACUTE clinic a month ago, weighing just 70 pounds. “I was pretty much dead when I walked in here,” she said. O’Rourke shared that the treatment has left her feeling “amazing,” and she hopes her story can inspire others to seek help.
In response to growing concerns about the misuse of weight loss medications, a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, the company behind Wegovy and Ozempic, emphasized the importance of using their medications responsibly and only for patients who meet the appropriate criteria.
For patients like O’Rourke, who has struggled with an eating disorder for decades, the road to recovery is challenging but hopeful. “Life’s a gift,” she said, reflecting on her ongoing recovery, “and I don’t want to waste it.”
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