As a sex and relationship expert, Pepper Schwartz helps other people find and nurture love.
But as she offered advice, wrote books and appeared on reality TV, the busy sexologist struggled with weight and needed some health help of her own. She says it came in the form of Ozempic, the Type 2 diabetes treatment with a celebrated side effect: weight loss.
Like many patients taking the prescription medication, Schwartz doesn’t have diabetes. She says she began using it off-label after her doctor and follow-up medical tests deemed it appropriate for her situation. (The maker of Ozempic, Novo Nordisk, previously told TODAY.com that it “does not support or promote the use of our medicines outside of the FDA approved indication.”)
Schwartz, a professor of sociology at the University of Washington, says after years of diets that were hard to stick with for the long term and led to a cycle of losing and regaining weight, the drug has made it easy to slim down and eat less without much effort.
She has lost about 30 pounds since the summer of 2022.
“I have really thought about this in terms of health a lot. I’m older. I just don’t think I can afford to (mess) around with weight anymore because there are just all these concomitant things with weight, and none of them are good,” Schwartz, 78, who lives in Snoqualmie, Washington, tells TODAY.com.
She’s an adviser to Ro Body, a weight loss program that provides access to Ozempic and its sister drug, Wegovy, which is approved for weight loss. Medication is prescribed through Ro only if deemed appropriate, according to its website.
“I really feel that it’s much more serious at this stage of my life. I love the fact that my blood pressure is low and my cholesterol is low and all those good things. Those are my motivations now rather than trying to fit in a size 4 dress.”
Obese BMI, but diets didn’t work
Schwartz’s weight problems began in her…
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