Why have I been prescribed Wegovy^®▼(semaglutide injection)?

Living with excess weight or obesity can be challenging.

• Physically, it can raise your risk of other health problems, such as:
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Some types of cancer, such as breast cancer and bowel cancer
  • Stroke
  • Heart disease
• Mentally, it can affect your self-esteem, mental health and quality of life. You may experience stigma or discrimination from others

Remember that you are not alone. Losing weight and keeping it off can be difficult for many people. Over 60% of adults are living with excess weight or obesity.^*

If you’re struggling with the effect that your weight is having on your daily life, or if you have any questions, remember to speak to your healthcare team.

^*According to GOV.UK, April 2024.

There is a common misperception that excess weight or obesity is only to do with making unhealthy lifestyle choices. In fact, it is more complex than that and can be caused by many different factors.

Risk factors include:

• Genetics
  Some genes are linked to obesity or excess weight. For example, some people’s genes can affect how their body stores fat. Other people may have genes that affect their lifestyle choices, such as giving a person a large appetite.
• Lifestyle factors
  A person’s environment, the people around them and the way they feel can have a big impact on weight.
  • A diet high in fast food, sugar and fat can play a key role. Foods that are high in calories are often cheaper and easier to access. This can make eating a healthy diet more challenging
  • Not achieving 150 minutes of exercise a week can also contribute to weight gain. This can be challenging for people with other health conditions or work or family commitments
  • People who have low mood or mental health challenges may also make less healthy food choices, especially if food is a source of comfort
• Medical conditions and treatments
  Some medical conditions can play a role in weight gain. For example, conditions that impact hormone balances in the body, such as:
  • Cushing’s syndrome
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome
  • Underactive thyroid
    
  Some medicines can also affect weight gain, such as:
  • Steroids
  • Beta blockers 
  • Corticosteroids
  • Medicines used to treat mental health problems, such as antidepressants
  • Medicines for epilepsy 
  • Medicines for diabetes

Age, going through menopause and lack of sleep are all further examples of factors that can play a role in weight.

It’s important to understand how many factors are involved in weight. Remember that struggling with your weight is real. It’s not just about your personal willpower.

Losing weight and keeping it off can be challenging. It might feel like your body is fighting against you.

• You start losing weight
  When you start making changes to your diet and exercise, you might find losing weight can be easy.
• Your body pushes back
  Changes in your appetite hormones after weight loss can make you feel hungrier. This can make it difficult to keep the weight off, despite your best efforts.

This means that weight management can require a combination of different approaches to:

• Support weight loss
• Prevent weight regain
• Improve weight-related complications and overall health

You and your healthcare team have decided to make Wegovy^® part of your weight management plan. Wegovy^® should be taken alongside diet and exercise. Speak to your healthcare team about other aspects of your weight management plan, such as getting more active and eating a healthy diet.

Living with the risk of CVD, or CVD itself, can have a big impact on your daily life:

• Physically, CVD risk can lead to other health problems, such as:
  • Heart attack
  • Stroke
  • Heart failure
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Vascular dementia
• Mentally, living with heart problems can affect your mental health, causing problems such as:
  • Depression
  • Fear 
  • Anxiety
  • Stress

Remember that there are steps you can take now to reduce your risk of CVD. If you have any specific concerns or questions about CVD risk, remember that your healthcare team are there to support you.

The exact cause of CVD isn’t clear but there are different reasons why you might be at risk. These include:

• Living with other health conditions
  Such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and obesity
• Personal factors
  Such as a family history of CVD, ethnicity (people of south Asian, Black African or African Caribbean background), age (being older than 50) and gender (men have a higher risk of CVD)
• Lifestyle factors
  Such as smoking, drinking a lot of alcohol, being inactive and eating an unhealthy diet

While some of these risk factors, such as smoking, can be managed, others, such as age, cannot be changed.

Your healthcare team will think about all your personal risk factors when creating your management plan, which includes Wegovy^®.