Ozempic controlled Markku’s diabetes but did not stop weight gain

Ozempic helped Markku Turunen manage his type 2 diabetes, but his weight rose by 11 kilograms after he began taking it, Yle reports. He used the medicine for more than four years.

Turunen, a Kuopio resident, started treatment in 2022, when he weighed 130 kilograms and had recently learned he had diabetes. He had heard that Ozempic could help people lose as much as 40 kilograms. He initially lost about five kilograms, but says the effect faded.

Medicines such as Ozempic can be effective for weight loss and may improve cardiovascular health and mental wellbeing. But some users do not lose weight, and the reasons are not fully understood. Changes to eating and exercise habits are also important, Yle reports.

Obesity researcher and adjunct professor Pia Pajunen says the medicines are a scientific breakthrough when used correctly, but they can also have serious side effects. Semaglutide, Ozempic’s active ingredient, can cause nausea and vomiting and, in severe cases, pancreatitis.

Clinical trials of semaglutide at Turunen’s dose have produced weight loss of 10 to 15 per cent. But participants also received lifestyle support, which Turunen did not. “The instruction was to inject Ozempic once a week, and that was it,” he said.

Yle’s MOT programme asked all 21 wellbeing services counties and Helsinki whether they had enough time, funding and staff to treat obesity. Only four areas said they did. The programme reports that access to a dietitian can be harder than getting a prescription, and that many areas lack dietitians.

Turunen finally saw a dietitian in June 2026, during filming for the programme. He said the support came too late and that he should have received help with eating from the start. He also said he should have begun going to the gym, as the medication can reduce muscle mass.