Meaning, whether you lose weight through a change in your diet, a different medication, or bariatric surgery, there is a risk of losing bone density. However, in this particular study, taking weight loss drugs like Ozempic did seem to have a bigger impact on bone density than losing weight through other means.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are offering discounts to encourage more insurance coverage of the medicines, which carry price tags of over $1,000 a month.

One of the researchers described the circumstances that led to the discovery as “serendipity.” This year’s prestigious Lasker medical awards recognize a trio of scientists without whom Ozempic and other blockbuster weight-loss drugs might not exist.

F ROM LOS ANGELES to London, weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic are reshaping culture as much as waistlines. Some Ozempic-takers have tiny appetites and dine at unusual hours to avoid spells of nausea.

Many people are doing an end-run around their doctor's office, reaching out to potentially unreliable sources that promise to set them up with Wegovy, Zepbound and other weight-loss drugs.

Half a century of advancements in biomedical science paved the way for today's powerful weight-loss drugs like Ozempic -- so what was that journey like for the scientists involved?