Weight loss injections, especially GLP-1 receptor agonists known as "Ozempic", "Semavik", and "Laraglan", have gained great popularity in recent years worldwide and in Azerbaijan. Currently, individuals with a few kilograms of excess weight in our country can also consult a doctor and get a prescription for weight loss injections. Being under medical supervision is a very important nuance here, as these preparations are not officially sold without a prescription.
Instead of dieting for months, counting calories, and exercising, people find it more convenient to suppress their appetite with an injection administered once or several times a week. This factor, in the initial stage, reduces the number of people seeking help from dietitians. It is interesting, does the method of losing weight without any diet really "kill" the dietitians' market?
Speaking to Modern.az about the issue, dietitian-nutritionist Lala Rzayeva stated that although weight loss injections may seem like an "easy way", the reality is completely different:
"Weight loss injections are not bad, but they are not for everyone. Now, because these preparations are prescribed so easily, they are perceived as a miracle. However, this is just a method. Yes, it can reduce appetite, but food is constant. The main thing is to establish a correct relationship with food, learn to be friends with it, and form a healthy eating system."
According to the expert, uncontrolled use of these injections carries the risk of muscle loss, constipation, nausea, and rapid weight regain after the injection is stopped:
"Individuals using weight loss injections eat very little due to lack of appetite. At this time, the p rapidly loses muscle along with fat, leading to skin sagging and vitamin deficiency. Professional dietitian supervision is absolutely necessary to manage the process and ensure the p receives essential proteins and micronutrients.
These injections cannot be used for life. After the injection is stopped, appetite instinctively returns. If the person has not acquired proper eating habits with the help of a dietitian during the period of injection, they will quickly regain the lost weight, and even more."
L. Rzayeva added that weight loss injections can never completely paralyze the field of dietitians. Because even though the injection helps with weight loss, it does not teach how to maintain weight and live a healthy lifestyle. At this stage, the biggest task falls on dietitians.
It should be noted that the prices of these types of injections currently sold in Azerbaijan vary between 130-230 manats. A package of preparations sold in box form usually contains two injections.
Tohfa Samad
