Popular GLP-1 drugs prescribed for weight loss are suppressing people’s appetite for more than just food: Health experts warn that they’re also dulling some patients’ desire for sex and socializing.
Social media influencers have dubbed it “Ozempic personality,” referring to the anti-diabetes treatment that made GLP-1s a household name.
Doctors say it’s a mild form of anhedonia — the loss of experiencing pleasure — that results from dampening of the brain’s dopamine receptors.
Psychologist Patrick Porter, a North Carolina-based brain researcher, says some patients lose motivation for “activities that normally bring meaning and engagement” after GLP-1s dull their pleasure in eating.
“This doesn’t happen to everyone, but it highlights a fundamental principle of neuroscience: When you dial down one aspect of the brain’s reward system, you may dial down others as well,” Mr. Porter said in an email.
He said that could mean muscle loss, brain deterioration and increased depression risks for GLP-1 users who fail to stay physically active as they lose weight.
“With Ozempic personality, you don’t get too anxious, you’re just numbed out,” said Avigail Lev, a San Francisco-based psychologist.
“Sometimes there’s a lot of anger and irritability, especially if there’s low blood sugar,” Ms. Lev added. “But there isn’t much anxiety or motivation to get things done, and there isn’t much reward once you do get things done.”
Physicians interviewed by The Washington Times noted that failing to pair regular exercise with GLP-1s also increases a patient’s risk of “Ozempic face.”
The unofficial term describes the gaunt, sagging and prematurely aged visage of GLP-1 users who fail to exert themselves regularly as they shed pounds.
“It usually refers to facial volume loss after significant weight loss,” said Dr. Fernando Ovalle, an obesity specialist and reviewer for Drugwatch.com.
Dr. Ovalle rejected common internet phrases such as “Ozempic face,” “Ozempic zombies” and “Ozempic personality” as “stigmatizing and not medically helpful.”
KFF, an independent health policy think tank formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation, estimated last year that 18% of U.S. adults had ever used a GLP-1 drug. That included 57% of diabetics and 34% of those diagnosed as overweight or obese.
Most doctors insist that more research is needed to determine how many patients are using the drugs as they should.
“We should not get ahead of the data by asserting there is an Ozempic personality,” said Keith Humphreys, a Stanford University psychologist and addiction researcher. “It would be a mistake to panic when we don’t know how rarely this happens and whether it goes away if you simply stop taking the medication.”
Side effects
Originally designed to lower blood sugar in diabetics, GLP-1s have driven billions in sales as pharmaceutical companies have marketed versions for weight loss.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Ozempic as an insulin-boosting treatment for Type 2 diabetes in 2017.
Subsequent reports of dramatic weight loss in patients led Novo Nordisk, the Danish company that makes Ozempic, to repackage it.
In 2021, the FDA approved Wegovy, a version of the drug prescribed for weight management.
The FDA approved the rival GLP-1 drug Mounjaro for Type 2 diabetes in 2022.
Its maker, Eli Lilly & Co., reported an explosion in sales. The FDA approved Lilly’s Zepbound, a version prescribed for weight loss, in November 2023.
A Lilly spokesperson encouraged anyone suffering side effects from the medications to contact their doctor and inform the company.
“Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority, and we actively monitor, evaluate, and report safety information for all our medicines,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement this week. “Lilly’s labels for its medicines include robust, FDA-approved warnings.”
A U.S. spokesman for Novo Nordisk emphasized “robust clinical development programs [and] large real-world evidence studies” confirming the safety of Ozempic and Wegovy at their recommended dosages.
“Novo Nordisk is continuously performing surveillance of the data from ongoing clinical trials and real-world use of its products and collaborates closely with regulatory authorities to ensure patient safety and adequate information [for] healthcare professionals,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Evan Nadler, a former head of the Childhood Obesity Program at Children’s National Hospital in the District of Columbia, affirmed that large studies so far do not support complaints of “widespread mood issues” arising from GLP-1s.
“As with everything with these medications, it gets lots of hype,” Dr. Nadler said. “While GLP-1 agonists definitely have an impact on the brain, the data that [they] cause mood flattening are scarce at best.”
Other experts suggested that some patients could be exaggerating minor GLP-1 side effects that could be fixed by adjusting their dosage.
“You may notice a blunted mood, less enthusiasm about things, low libido, less energy or desire to do activities you once enjoyed, and/or an overall flattening of emotions,” said Dr. James J. Chao, who prescribes GLP-1s as part of a metabolic health program at VedaNu Wellness in San Diego, California. “It doesn’t typically rise to the level of clinical anhedonia but can resemble it.”
Brad Lieberman, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner in New York City, pointed to estimates that roughly 9% of GLP-1 users experience midfacial volume loss.
He said that makes “Ozempic face” far more common than anecdotal reports of “Ozempic personality.”
“The minority experiencing emotional flatness is real,” Mr. Lieberman said. “The broad caricature isn’t.”
But Dr. Jasmine Sawhne, a California psychiatrist specializing in eating disorders, insisted she’s seen “Ozempic personality” in vulnerable patients.
She said that could indicate an unforeseen biological side effect and increased psychological risks.
“Patients will say, ’I still like things, but I don’t feel pulled toward them,’” Dr. Sawhne said in an email. “When that ’wanting’ system is dampened too much, people can drift into disengagement.”
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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