📢 Pipo wey dey use Drugs Like Ozempic Tok Say Their ‘Food Noise’ Don Disappear 🍔🔇
For some, e dey shocking. 😲
Until she start to take di weight loss drug Wegovy, Staci Klemmer’s days dey revolve around food. When she wake up, she plot wetin she go chop; as soon as she chop lunch, she dey tink about dinner. After she comot from work as high school teacher for Bucks County, Pa., she go often drive go Taco Bell or McDonald’s sake of di “24/7 chatter” wey dey her mind. Even wen belle full, she still wan chop.
Almost immediately afta Ms. Klemmer first dose of medication for February, she come experience side effects: acid reflux, constipation, queasiness, fatigue. But, she talk say, e be like switch flip for her brain — di “food noise” quiet down.
🗣️ “I no dey think about tacos all di time again,” Ms. Klemmer, 57, talk. “I no get cravings again. At all. E dey like say na di weirdest tin.”
Dr. Andrew Kraftson, clinical associate professor for Michigan Medicine, talk say for di 13 years wey him don dey work as obesity medicine specialist, pipo wey him treat always complain say dem no fit stop to dey think about food. So wen him start to prescribe Wegovy and Ozempic, diabetes medication wey get di same compound, and patients begin use di term “food noise,” tok say e don disappear, e know exactly wetin dem dey mean.
As interest don dey grow around Ozempic and oda injectable diabetes medications like Mounjaro, wey dey work in similar ways, dat term don gain traction. Videos wey relate to “food noise explained” don gather 1.8 billion views for TikTok. And some of di pipo wey don manage get hold of dis medications — despite scarcity and high prices wey fit reach or pass one thousand dollars — don share dia tori for social media.
🌬️ When food noise fade
Wendy Gantt, 56, talk say she first hear di term “food noise” for TikTok, where she also learn about Mounjaro. She come find telehealth platform and collect prescription within few hours. She fit remember di first day wey she start to use am last summer. 🗯️ “E be like say freedom from dat loop of ‘Wetin I go chop? I neva full; I need more. Wetin I go snack on?'” she talk. “E be like say pesin use eraser wipe am clean.”
For some pipo, scarcity of dis medications don provide test case, one way to see how dia life be with and without “food noise.” Kelsey Ryan, 35, insurance broker for Canandaigua, N.Y., no fit collect Ozempic prescription for di past few weeks, and di noise don begin return. E no be only di temptation to chop soft-serve ice cream every day, she talk. To Ms. Ryan, “food noise” still mean plenty oda tins wey concern food: internal negotiations on whether to chop for front of oda pipo, wondering if dem go judge her for chop fried chicken or if ordering salad go make am look like she dey try too hard. Ozempic na more like tool to silence di “food noise,” she tok.
🛠️ “E na tool,” she talk. “E no be magic drug wey dey give pipo easy way out.”
Wetin dey cause food noise?
Dia no dey clinical definition for food noise, but di experts and patients wey dem interview for dis tori generally agree say e be like say na constant rumination about food e be. Some researchers link di concept to “hedonic hunger,” wey be intense preoccupation to chop food sake of pleasure, and dem talk say e fit also be part of binge eating disorder, wey common but pipo no too understand am.
Obesity medicine specialists don try find better understanding of why some pipo dey always dey ruminate about food, Dr. Robert Gabbay, chief scientific and medical officer of di American Diabetes Association, tok. 💡 “E jus look like say some pipo dey wired dis way,” e tok. Obsessive rumination about food most likely dey result from genetic factors and environmental exposure and learned habits, Dr. Janice Jin Hwang, chief of di division of endocrinology and metabolism for di University of North Carolina School of Medicine, tok.
🤔 Why some pipo fit shake off di impulse to chop, and oda pipo remain stuck with thoughts about food, na “di million-dollar question,” Dr. Hwang tok.
How medication take suppress food noise?
Di active ingredient for Ozempic and Wegovy na semaglutide, one compound wey affect di areas for brain wey regulate appetite, Dr. Gabbay tok; e also make di stomach empty slowly, so pipo wey dey take di medication go feel full fast and for long time. Dat feeling of satiation fit quench food noise, e tok.
Another theoretical framework for why Ozempic fit silence food noise na say semaglutide fit activate receptors for one hormone wey dem call GLP-1. Studies for animals don show say dem receptors dey cells for regions of di brain wey dey important for motivation and reward, wey fit explain how semaglutide fit influence cravings and desires. E possible, even if e neva proven, say di same fit happen for humans, Dr. Hwang tok, and e fit explain why pipo wey dey take di medication sometimes talk say di food (and, for some cases, alcohol) wey dem used to crave no longer bring dem joy.
Researchers dey continue to investigate how semaglutide take work, how e fit influence di brain aspects like food noise, and di potential wey e get for oda uses like treating addiction.
Ms. Klemmer tok say she dey worry about di potential long-term side effects of medication wey she fit dey take for di rest of her life. But she believe say di trade-off — di end of food noise — worth am. 🗯️ “E worth every bad side effect wey I fit go through sake of wetin I dey feel now,” she tok: “I no send about food again.” 🙌🏽🍽️
NOW IN ENGLISH
📢 People who use Drugs Like Ozempic Say Their ‘Food Noise’ Has Disappeared 🍔🔇
For some, it’s shocking. 😲
Until she started taking the weight loss drug Wegovy, Staci Klemmer’s days revolved around food. When she woke up, she planned what she would eat; as soon as she finished lunch, she thought about dinner. After leaving work as a high school teacher in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, she would often drive to Taco Bell or McDonald’s because of the constant chatter in her mind about food. Even when she was full, she still had the desire to eat.
Almost immediately after Ms. Klemmer’s first dose of medication in February, she experienced side effects: acid reflux, constipation, queasiness, fatigue. But, she said, it was like a switch flipped in her brain — the “food noise” quieted down.
🗣️ “I don’t think about tacos all the time anymore,” Ms. Klemmer, 57, said. “I don’t have cravings anymore. At all. It’s the weirdest thing.”
Dr. Andrew Kraftson, a clinical associate professor at Michigan Medicine, said that over his 13 years as an obesity medicine specialist, people he treated would often say they couldn’t stop thinking about food. So when he started prescribing Wegovy and Ozempic, diabetes medications that contain the same compound, and patients began using the term “food noise,” saying it had disappeared, he knew exactly what they meant.
As interest has grown around Ozempic and other injectable diabetes medications like Mounjaro, which work in similar ways, that term has gained traction. Videos related to the subject of “food noise explained” have been viewed 1.8 billion times on TikTok. And some of the people who have managed to get their hands on these medications — despite shortages and high prices that can reach or exceed one thousand dollars — have shared their stories on social media.
🌬️ When food noise fades
Wendy Gantt, 56, said she first heard the term “food noise” on TikTok, where she also learned about Mounjaro. She found a telehealth platform and obtained a prescription within a few hours. She vividly remembers the first day she started using it last summer. 🗯️ “It was like freedom from that cycle of ‘What am I going to eat? I’m not full; I need more. What can I snack on?'” she said. “It’s like someone used an eraser to wipe it clean.”
For some people, the scarcity of these medications has provided an opportunity to see what their lives are like with and without “food noise.” Kelsey Ryan, 35, an insurance broker in Canandaigua, New York, has been unable to fill her Ozempic prescription for the past few weeks, and the noise has started to return. It’s not just the temptation to have soft-serve ice cream every day, she said. To Ms. Ryan, “food noise” encompasses a range of other thoughts related to food: internal negotiations about whether to eat in front of others, wondering if they will judge her for eating fried chicken or if ordering a salad makes it seem like she’s trying too hard. Ozempic is more like a tool to silence the “food noise” than anything else, she said.
🛠️ “It’s a tool,” she said. “It’s not a magic drug that provides an easy way out.”
What causes food noise?
There is no clinical definition for food noise, but the experts and patients interviewed for this article generally agree that it refers to constant rumination about food. Some researchers associate the concept with “hedonic hunger,” an intense preoccupation with eating food for pleasure, and note that it can also be a component of binge eating disorder, which is common but often misunderstood.
Obesity medicine specialists have been trying to better understand why some people ruminate about food for extended periods of time, said Dr. Robert Gabbay, chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association. 💡 “It just seems that some people are wired this way,” he said. Obsessive rumination about food is most likely the result of genetic factors as well as environmental exposure and learned habits, said Dr. Janice Jin Hwang, chief of the division of endocrinology and metabolism at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
🤔 Why some people can shake off the impulse to eat, while others remain trapped in thoughts about food, is the “million-dollar question,” Dr. Hwang said.
How does medication suppress food noise?
The active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy is semaglutide, a compound that affects the areas in the brain that regulate appetite, Dr. Gabbay said; it also slows down the emptying of the stomach, making people taking the medication feel full faster and for longer. This feeling of satiation could quieten food noise, he said.
There is another theoretical framework for why Ozempic might quash food noise: Semaglutide activates receptors for a hormone called GLP-1. Animal studies have shown that these receptors are found in cells in regions of the brain that are particularly important for motivation and reward, suggesting a potential way in which semaglutide could influence cravings and desires. It is possible, although not yet proven, that the same happens in humans, Dr. Hwang said, which could explain why people taking the medication sometimes report that the food (and, in some cases, alcohol) they used to crave no longer brings them joy.
Researchers are continuing to investigate how semaglutide works, how it may influence aspects of the brain such as food noise, and its potential for other uses, such as treating addiction.
Ms. Klemmer said she worries about the potential long-term side effects of a medication she may be on for the rest of her life. But she believes that the trade-off — the end of food noise — is worth it. 🗯️ “It’s worth every bad side effect that I may have to endure to have what I feel now,” she said. “I no longer care about food.” 🙌🏽🍽️
