OPINION: Ozempic-like injection videos taking over TikTok - I fear for Irish teens

As a 24-year-old old recent graduate, who rarely comes off TikTok, I have noticed an unfortunate trend taking shape over recent years. 

The trend of losing weight, but not in the way you’d think. 

Not by eating right or working out, but rather, by something riskier, and much more life-altering, which is dubbed as quick, fast, and ‘easy’ weight loss, Ozempic. 

In 2018, the HSE first approved Ozempic in Ireland, for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. However, the name is now used to describe an entire category of weight-loss injections, including Wegovy, which has the same active ingredient (semaglutide) as Ozempic but comes with a higher maximum dose. 

In the US, from early 2020 to the end of 2022, prescription volumes for Ozempic, and other weight loss drugs with similar effects saw a 300% increase, with 9 million prescriptions being written in the final three months of 2022 alone, according to the Journal of Plastic, Reconstruction, and Aesthetic Surgery. 

I go onto TikTok to laugh at people falling over, and cry when families are reunited with their long distance loved ones, not be made feel unsettled by “I was on Ozempic for a year and it changed my life” videos. 

Now don't get me wrong, I completely understand that for many, these medical interventions are necessary, and undoubtedly provide many benefits for adults struggling with obesity, but I am talking about those who aren't obese, not even close. 

What was once something that was kept private for medical reasons is now growing in popularity among the uncomfortable, and preying on their insecurities.

I have seen videos of friends, laughing while injecting each other with the drug, and I have seen others put off paying their rent in order to purchase Ozempic, with its prices varying from €100 to €200 per injection.

Did I mention that none of the women in these videos were above a UK size 12? 

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The increasing normalisation raises important questions about the impact on children that are growing up, seeing this. 

I fear children exposed to this mindset may internalise harmful messages about their own self worth and body image and I find myself, a usually very confident woman, looking back and wondering how this would have affected 13-year-old me. 

For reference, 13-year-old me was anything but confident, and thinking of her, who I used to be, leaves me with vivid, unfortunate memories. 

I remember my birthday and how excited I was for it, to finally be a teenager. "These are going to be the best years of your life," my grandmother promised me.

My family showered me with love, gifts, and of course, cake, and what did I wish for when I blew out my candles you ask?

Not to become rich, not for world peace. 

“I wish to lose weight,” I remember telling myself internally. 

I didn’t tell anyone, for fear it wouldn’t come true because I was convinced, to be skinny is to be happy. 

And still, this message seems to be going strong and I am reminded of how little progress has been made over a decade later. 

Now, I am not perfect. I am coming to you, writing this, with lips plumped with filler, fake nails, and freshly dyed and blow-dried hair, I am far from natural and I am not claiming to be.

However, this is where my issue lies, transparency. 

In my opinion, this shift in openness has created the perception that weight loss is a quick fix, rather than a complex issue influenced by many things, such as, genetics, lifestyle, health, and mental health also. 

I think back to how much I absorbed, even with limited social media and screentime, so I cannot begin to imagine what children are thinking when they see videos like this nowadays.

As a young girl, I would sit in my bed scrolling aimlessly for hours, looking at thin models and celebrities, wishing I could look even a little bit like them.

To put it plainly, I have spent 11 years learning how to become comfortable with myself. I lost the best years of my childhood hating myself and the way I looked.

This is something I should have never worried about in the first place, all because of what I would see on social media.

I worry about the children growing up in this generation now, and will they too spend a decade learning how to face themselves in the mirror without crying. 

For now, I continue to select 'not interested' on the videos where the Ozempic brigade pop up, and I suggest you do too. 

And if you find yourself falling for something just because everyone else is, take a moment to question whether it aligns with your true values and desires, or if you are just simply following the crowd.