Some, but sarcopenia caused by rapid weight loss is a well known phenomenon. I think the tie to ozempic is a little overblown, but is is a real issue.
In a “traditional” weight loss strategy, you paired calorie deficit with an increase in physical activity (cardio, resistance training, etc). This increased physical activity helped protect you from muscle loss (your body tended to recognize that muscle was important so it burned fat at a higher rate)
With ozempic, people can lose weight without changing their sedentary lifestyle. Since your muscles are not needed, your body is free to grab energy from wherever it can. In some studies, almost half of weight loss can come from lean tissue.
Is it better to for an obese person to lose weight vs not lose weight? Absolutely. But it would be even better if they also changed their lifestyle to protect their muscle mass.
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Some, but sarcopenia caused by rapid weight loss is a well known phenomenon. I think the tie to ozempic is a little overblown, but is is a real issue.
In a “traditional” weight loss strategy, you paired calorie deficit with an increase in physical activity (cardio, resistance training, etc). This increased physical activity helped protect you from muscle loss (your body tended to recognize that muscle was important so it burned fat at a higher rate)
With ozempic, people can lose weight without changing their sedentary lifestyle. Since your muscles are not needed, your body is free to grab energy from wherever it can. In some studies, almost half of weight loss can come from lean tissue.
Is it better to for an obese person to lose weight vs not lose weight? Absolutely. But it would be even better if they also changed their lifestyle to protect their muscle mass.