Weight loss methods investigated by Virginia College students

Two Virginia College students have surveyed attitudes towards Ozempic, a diabetes medicine commonly used for weight loss.

Their project has landed them a place in the BT Young Scientist Exhibition in Dublin, where they spoke to The Anglo-Celt. Their study is part of the Health and Wellbeing category.

Summer Nolan and Erin King created the project Balancing the Scales, Perceptions of fairness in weight loss: surveying attitudes towards Ozempic.

The project centered around a survey to determine if taking Ozempic for weight loss is fair or unfair.

“I have a relation who is on Ozempic and I thought it was unfair that she was on it for weight loss and it should just be kept for diabetic people,” said Erin.

Based on their survey of over 200 people aged eighteen and over, the girls found that “the majority of people” sampled felt the same way.

Summer explained the study also found “diet and exercise should always come first before taking Ozempic.”

“I think people should just go out and exercise and not use Ozempic for weight loss and keep it for type 2 diabetics,” Erin outlined.

The Transition Year students outlined why they delved into this topic.

“We thought it was interesting and because I have a relation on Ozempic I thought, yeah I want to do this."

Both had seen the recent 'RTÉ Investigates: Black Market Weight Loss' which explored the sale of weight loss drugs and medications in Ireland.

“It was crazy,” said Erin.

“When you could just walk down the street in Dublin and get it [weight loss medication] off anyone.”