RFK wants to restrict weight loss drugs like Ozempic…says they won’t make America healthy again

Robert F. Kennedy Junior wants to reduce the country’s dependence on Ozempic, claiming that Americans addicted to the drug are “stupid” and “addicted.”

Estimates suggest that more than 9 million prescriptions for Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs are written each year in the US, one of the fattest countries in the world.

But Kennedy says the money spent on the drugs – up to $1,600 a month – would be better suited to providing families with balanced and healthy meals.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee told the late night show Gutfeld! last month: “We spend $1.6k a month on this drug. There has already been a bill before Congress That will make it available to everyone who is overweight… that alone costs $3 trillion a year.

“If we spend about a fifth of that on giving good food, three meals a day, to every man, woman and child in our country, we could solve the obesity and diabetes epidemic overnight.”

Mr. Kennedy, a famous vaccine skeptic who claims that WiFi causes cancer and that AIDS is not caused by HIV, also said that Americans are taking advantage of pharmaceutical companies and claimed that Ozempic is not recommended in the country where it was invented, which is not entirely true is. accurately.

Authorities in Denmark, home to manufacturer Novo Nordisk, have approved Ozempic for type 2 diabetics and Wegovy for weight loss patients – with almost 100,000 prescriptions now written each year.

But they are urging doctors to prescribe cheaper alternatives, saying people would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on the vaccinations before receiving substantial health benefits.

Mr Kennedy is pictured above on the show talking about Ozempic

During the show, RFK added: ‘They make this drug in Denmark and in Denmark they don’t recommend it for diabetes or obesity. They recommend dietary or behavioral changes.

‘She [Novo Nordisk, its manufacturer] we rely on selling it to Americans because we are so stupid and so addicted to drugs.”

According to the CDC, about 74 percent of Americans are overweight or obese – the highest level ever recorded.

Studies suggest that people can lose about one to two pounds per week with Ozempic or Wegovy, but much of this weight loss comes from loss of muscle mass rather than fat.

Doctors prescribing the drug already ask patients to follow a healthy and protein-rich diet and adopt an active lifestyle.

This is to help them maintain muscle mass and to ensure that a person does not regain the weight when he or she stops taking the drug.

Mr Kennedy made these comments after being asked about a separate study which found that Ozempic reduced the risk of alcohol abuse by 50 per cent.

This may indicate a reduced risk of mental health problems, despite some reports previously suggesting the drug could cause depression and suicidal thoughts.

“I have to look at the methodology of that study because I don’t believe in it,” he said.

‘The EU is currently investigating Ozempic for suicidal ideation, but it could be that the drug suppresses reward pathways, making you want to do everything less, and that could be part of the answer.’

He spoke in October after Europe’s medicines regulator – the European Medicines Agency – said there was “no link” between the drug and suicidal thoughts.

The FDA also concluded in August that there was no increased risk of suicide in patients taking Ozempic compared to those not taking the drug.

Above, he is seen taking a break from Make America Healthy Again while eating some McDonald’s on Trump’s plane

However, doctors still say it’s possible that patients taking the drug would continue to struggle with feelings of sadness if they had used food as a “coping mechanism.”

However, Ozempic does come with a number of health benefits, including a reduced risk of heart attack and increased self-confidence about one’s appearance.

A landmark study of 17,000 overweight or obese patients found that Wegovy reduced the risk of heart attack, stroke and death from heart disease by 20 percent compared to those who did not take the drug.

Doctors responding to RFK’s comments accused him of spreading misinformation.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, a top infectious disease researcher at the University of Minnesota, said CNN: ‘He acts like he knows what he’s talking about, when he doesn’t.

“And he says things with a definition that convinces people he has the data to back up his statements.

“Trying to follow him and understand what he’s talking about is often like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall.”

The ‘Make America Healthy Again’ campaigner has pledged to improve the country’s health through a crackdown on processed foods and additives – a move cautiously welcomed by many public health activists.

He has pledged that on his first day in office he will try to eliminate processed foods from school cafeterias and ban dyes linked to hyperactivity used in foods like Froot Loops and Skittles.