Originally approved to help with excess weight and obesity, Wegovy and Ozempic, have become synonymous with weight loss fads. Here's what you need to know.

Ozempic and other diabetes-weight loss drugs have been linked to at least 162 deaths and 10,000 cases involving “serious” injuries since

The FDA has approved Wegovy for weight loss. It’s a higher-dose version of the same drug in Ozempic with the same active ingredient. Dagen said Wegovy essentially makes the brain think less about eating.

Semaglutide, the underlying drug marketed as Ozempic and Wegovy, works by mimicking a hormone that triggers the body to feel full. When the drug interacts with a receptor in the stomach, patients feel full sooner and for a longer period of time after eating. The drug does not cause weight loss directly – instead, it makes you want to eat less.

New research suggests GLP-1 medications like Ozempic may help reduce several health risks in addition to treating type 2 diabetes and obesity.