Ozempic and Wegovy have received a lot of publicity as revolutionizing treatment options for obesity. Both medications form a class of GLP-1 receptor agonists, which mimic a hormone in the body called glucagon-like peptide-1 and are involved in the regulation of appetite and blood sugar. Indeed, in initial clinical studies, the majority of those on the drugs lost 15% to 22% of body weight, hence much optimism. For most patients, these medications are underwhelming for about 20% of patients due to minimal weight loss or other challenges.

Take a closer look at why the weight loss drugs may not work for everyone, together with what options exist when they don't deliver the expected outcomes.

Why Weight Loss Drugs May Not Work

While GLP-1 receptor agonists have produced phenomenal responses in a majority of patients, it remains a reality that these drugs work differently for different people. Here's why:

1. Genetic and Hormonal Variability

Weight loss medications interact with complex systems in the body that differ from person to person. Genetics, hormones, and individual brain responses to energy regulation play significant roles in determining how a person responds to drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.

2. Underlying Medical Conditions

Other conditions, such as sleep apnea, may be prevalent and prevent or delay the achievement of weight loss goals. Prescription drugs like antidepressants, steroids, or contraceptives are other medications that can nullify weight loss medication benefits.

3. Unrealistic Expectations

Often, they come to these medications with enormous hopes; expecting the promised rapid and dramatic weight loss. Progress creates disappointment if it has not stalled. In patients who rigidly follow recommended lifestyle modifications, frustration and disappointment are most common.

Why it is Important to Identify Non-responders

For most patients, the effectiveness of GLP-1 receptor agonists is evident within a few weeks of treatment. Weight loss typically begins within a few weeks of initiating therapy and tends to increase with dosage. However, some patients respond very little, if at all, despite strict adherence to their regimen.

For nonresponders, this can feel like a dead end. However, understanding the unique complexities of obesity is essential. This condition stems from brain dysfunction, and the pathways that contribute to weight regulation differ among individuals.

Alternative Treatment Options

When Ozempic or Wegovy doesn’t yield desired results, there are still many paths to explore:

1. Switching to Another GLP-1 Drug

For example, some patients who don't respond well to one GLP-1 receptor agonist might find success with another drug in the same class. Newer medications, such as Zepbound, target other hormone pathways and seem promising even for those not responsive to earlier drugs.

2. Use of Older Medications

While there is much to say about newer drugs, older treatments can still be useful and work for some patients. One can also seek the help of a medical provider specializing in obesity treatments in order to identify the best alternatives.

3. Lifestyle Changes

Diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management continue to be integral components of any weight loss program. New changes may be small but can make an enormous difference in one's health and success.

4. Medical Management of Obesity

It is a complex disorder, and most patients should receive a multidisciplinary treatment. Collaboration with an obesity-aware doctor may mean access to tailored treatment plans, ranging from psychological support all the way to metabolic testing, and many others.

Why Side Effects of Weight Loss Drug Ozempic May Be a Barrier

For others, side effects like nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea hinder them from continuing with these drugs. These symptoms often reduce as the body becomes accustomed, but for some, they might be severe enough to stop treatment altogether. In those instances, alternative drugs or procedures become vital to find.

Long-term effects of Ozempic or Wegovy on the Brain

Another largely unexplored area relates to GLP-1 drugs' long-term effects on the brain's regulation of hunger and satiety. Although GLP-1 drugs suppress appetite and can lead to effective weight loss, emerging research suggests that they may also affect brain reward mechanisms, changing the way patients experience foods.

This aspect could prove of paramount significance in the future treatment of obesity. Perhaps GLP-1 receptor agonists do indeed affect and rewire the brain's reward pathways and will thus provide sustained benefits beyond discontinuation. However, more research is required to understand this phenomenon fully.

While for many, Ozempic and Wegovy have revolutionized obesity treatment, these are certainly not a one size fits all. Nonresponders need not lose hope- alternative strategies and medications abound. A consultation with an obesity expert healthcare provider is essential to put together a comprehensive, tailored treatment plan.

The route toward effective weight loss may be challenging, but with the evolution of obesity medicine and a better understanding of individual needs, there is a path forward for everyone.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare has raised serious concerns about growing doctor burnout, especially among junior and senior resident doctors, and warned that it is now affecting both doctor well-being and patient safety. Noting that overworked doctors are a risk for patient safety, the panel said that fatigue-driven errors and burnout could compromise care.

To tackle this, the committee recommended that the government introduce and strictly enforce a formal “Clinical Duty Hours Regulation” policy. This should mandate fixed rest periods and monitored duty rosters, with oversight mechanisms to prevent violations, stated the panel in its 172nd report presented before the Parliament.

The recommendation comes amid growing concern over long, unregulated shifts in teaching hospitals, where residents often work extended hours with limited rest.

The panel warned that such conditions not only increase the likelihood of clinical mistakes but also contribute to burnout and mental health stress among young doctors.

What The Parliamentary Panel Said

The Panel noted that due to persistent human resource shortages, the working hours of junior and senior residents doctors often stretch from 24 to 36 hours. This increases risk of clinical errors and burnout, thereby compromising patient safety. Thus it recommended a mandatory working-hour regulatory framework:

• to minimize fatigue-induced clinical errors
• safeguard their mental and physical well-being,
• improving patient safety.

However, it noted the contractual engagement must not substitute regular appointments, as excessive reliance on contractual staff may dilute institutional accountability and continuity.

Instead, the panel has recommended adopting a "Total Support model for medical professionals" to attract and retain qualified doctors and specialists in the public health system.

Also read:India Must Integrate Technology To Build Preventive, Holistic Healthcare: Experts

What Is Clinical Duty Hours Regulation policy

The policy calls to:

• Ensure mandatory rest periods, monitored rosters.
• Ensure the presence of senior faculty in wards and in operating theatres during peak hours
• Align faculty schedules with clinical demand
• Offer Structured mentorship
• Protected teaching time for trainees to gain supervised clinical experience
• Improved working conditions, including accommodation, transportation, and administrative support, on par with the facilities afforded to senior civil servants,
• Transparent career progression with time-bound promotions.
• Integrate Yoga and the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) within the workforce to address depression and psychiatric issues.

Also read: Doctors Share Preventable Risk Factors That Can Land You in the Emergency Ward

What Is Burnout?

Burnout is distinct from depression, which influences every aspect of life and often involves persistent thoughts of hopelessness or worthlessness. Burnout typically involves limited manifestations to the work environment, although its impact can resonate into other areas.

Symptoms of Burnout

1. Exhaustion: Prolonged mental and physical depletion of your energy levels.

2. Depersonalization: Cynicism and lack of concern creep into relationships and communication.

3 Reduced Personal Achievement: Your work loses worth, and you may feel you are not up to standards, giving in to frustration and reduced originality.

These signs frequently coincide with physical signs (headaches, muscle pain, sleeplessness), emotional signs (self-doubt, loneliness, unhappiness), and behavioral signs (social withdrawal, outbursts of anger, abandonment of obligations).

Continuing the legacy of football legend Joe Thompson, his wife Chantelle revealed she is pregnant with his baby after IVF treatment using frozen embryos.

Joe Thompson died in 2025 after developing cancer for a third time - beating the illness twice.

But after the former Manchester United star was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma for a third time, which had spread to his lungs, he died aged 36.

"It just means absolutely everything. I know it's never going to replace Joe obviously. Joe's Joe. But to be able to bring his baby into the world again is beautiful," Chantelle said.

She said Joe had two visions of their family with a baby boy before he died, and he even gave her the name for the baby boy he predicted, and she got pregnant on her first attempt of IVF after he had died.

How Egg Freezing Works

Egg freezing, also known as oocyte cryopreservation, is an option that has gained significant traction in recent years. It offers women the ability to pause their biological clock and preserve the possibility of having children in the future.

Egg freezing takes a woman's unfertilized eggs from her ovaries and stores them at sub-zero temperatures to be utilized later. It is made to enable women to keep their fertility intact, especially if they are not yet ready to have a baby.

Dr. Pavithra M, Obstetrician, Gynecologist, and Infertility Specialist, told HealthandMe that the workup begins with hormone workup and evaluation of various parameters, such as age, body mass index (BMI), and ovarian reserve.

"On the second day of the menstrual cycle, baseline ultrasound scanning is performed to assess the number of follicles; thereafter, various tests of blood are conducted to assess hormone levels. If a woman's parameters are all normal, then she is administered hormonal injections for about 10-12 days."

It causes ovarian hyperstimulation and multiple mature eggs, monitored through ultrasound scans. A trigger shot is administered once the follicles have reached optimal size to help with final egg maturation. It takes 34-35 hours from the trigger shot, wherein eggs are retrieved by minimally invasive procedures under general anesthesia.

"Using a transvaginal ultrasound probe with a needle, each follicle is punctured, and the follicular fluid is aspirated. The retrieved eggs are then screened for quality before undergoing vitrification—a rapid freezing technique that minimizes ice crystal formation and cellular damage," Dr. Pavithra added. The eggs are then stored in liquid nitrogen tanks for long-term preservation.

While egg freezing is possible at various stages of life, experts recommend doing it at an optimal age -- in the late 20s or early 30s when the eggs are of higher quality-- for better outcomes.

Annabelle Gurwitch, an American author, actress, and television host, has opened up about her lung cancer diagnosis in her new memoir.

In her sixth book, ‘The End of My Life Is Killing Me’, Annabelle Gurwitch offers a satirical take on her journey with stage 4 lung cancer. The best-selling author found out about her cancer status in 2020, when she went for a COVID-19 test.

In the book, Annabelle Gurwitch writes about her life as a "cancer slacker", her divorce, treatment with a targeted therapy that turns off the gene that has gone rogue, radiation, and chemotherapy, all with a humorous take.

Lung Cancer: A Stealthy Disease, Says Annabelle Gurwitch

Notably, the American actress had no symptoms and was not a smoker. She went to get her “persistent little cough” tested for COVID, when a doctor told her that there was something suspicious on her lungs.

Soon after, an X-ray and a biopsy confirmed her diagnosis of stage 4 cancer.

Annabelle Gurwitch called lung cancer a “stealthy disease" as, other than her little cough, she exercised every day and felt like she was in really good health.

“You know, you can be asymptomatic with Stage 4 lung cancer because lung cancer is a really stealthy disease, and this is why it's such a big killer, still the No. 1 cause of cancer deaths, because some lung cancers, like the one I have, are not recognized by the immune system," Annabelle Gurwitch told NPR.

"So my body didn't know that it was - anything was happening, which is, I mean, I was going to regular doctor's appointments. And this is why it's often diagnosed at a late stage, and such a big killer because it's not diagnosed at an earlier stage,” she added.

Also read: Early-Stage Lung Cancer Surgery Safe, Effective Even After 80, Reveals Lancet Study

Can Non-Smokers Get Lung Cancer?

Contrary to long-held assumptions, a significant proportion of lung cancer cases now occur in people with no history of smoking. The American Cancer Society reports that approximately 10-20 percent of lung cancers in the U.S are found in non-smokers, often attributed to genetic mutations like EGFR, environmental exposures, or radon gas.

These cases are more common in women, younger adults, and individuals of East Asian descent, but they can affect anyone.

Also read: New AIIMS Study To Probe How PM2.5 Is Surging Lung Cancer Risk In India

Early Signs and Symptoms to Look Out For

Lung cancer symptoms can mimic less serious conditions, which is why they’re often dismissed or misdiagnosed. If you experience the following symptoms persistently, don’t ignore them—regardless of your age or smoking history:

• Chest pain or discomfort
• Unexplained shortness of breath
• Persistent cough or wheezing
• Shoulder, back, or rib pain
• Fatigue or sudden weight loss
• Blood in sputum (though not always present).