Raven Symone has spoken out on the widespread use of diabetes medication Ozempic for weight loss purposes, warning that it is “made for certain people”.
The That’s So Raven star, 37, said her family has a history of pre-diabetes and diabetes and require medicines like Ozempic. However, the drug saw a sharp increase in use as a weight loss drug after celebrities began praising it for helping them shed pounds.
Speaking to E! News on Tuesday (11 July), Symone said: “I have pre-diabetes and diabetes in my family. If I’m not careful with my intake with types of foods, I am more susceptible to getting diabetes. So, I think it’s very important we understand certain medications are made for certain people – and to not take that away just for glamazon purposes.”
In April, it was reported that prescriptions for Ozempic had doubled since summer 2021 to more than 1.2 million, with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) logging shortages of the drug. This led to fears that people with diabetes would not be able to get their hands on the potentially life-saving medication.
Symone added: “Do what you gotta do, just make sure you save the medication for the people who actually need it.”
While Ozempic has touted as a “miracle drug” for weight loss by celebrities and influencers on social media, it is currently being investigated by European drug safety officials after some patients reported having suicidal or self-harming thoughts while taking it.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) told Reuters earlier this week that is has launched a probe into adverse side effects into the drug, manufactured by Novo Nordisk, after Iceland’s health regulator flagged three cases of patients thinking about suicide or self-harm.
The regulator’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) will also investigate weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Saxenda, both of which are approved in the UK and the US. Wegovy is not yet available in the UK, but prime minister Rishi Sunak has said doctors will be able to offer it to patients for diabetes and weight management under a £40m pilot scheme.
Last month, one of the scientists whose work helped to develop medications like Ozempic and Wegovy told Wired that the drug causes people to “lose your appetite and also the pleasure of eating”.
“If you like food, then that pleasure is gone. The craving for food for some people is taken away when they take GLP-1 drugs,” he said. “That may eventually be a problem, that once you’ve been on this for a year or two, life is so miserably boring that you can’t stand it any longer and you have to go back to your old life.”
Raven-Symone (L) and Miranda Maday appear at the Los Angeles premiere of the Disney+ Music Docu-Special "Bono & The Edge: A Sort Of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman" at The Orpheum Theatre on March 08, 2023— (Getty Images)
Elsewhere in her interview with E! News, Symone discussed self-confidence and how to foster it from the inside out.
“It’s hard to have,” she admitted. “But it is a mentality that you have to nourish and that your parents have to nourish as well.
“And if you don’t have that self-confidence, it will crumble other parts of your life. It will fester like a really bad blister. It’s hard to maintain it and hard to grow it as an adult, but I think anything is possible if you really set your mind to it.”
The Best Podcast Ever co-host shared her daily mantra to boost confidence: “I’m the greatest of all time. I’m the best.”
Symone is married to Miranda Pearman-Maday, with whom she hosts her podcast. The couple wed in June 2020, having first met in 2015 in a gay bar in West Hollywood.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
