Tamra Canty-Currie used to struggle to go for walks, climb flights of stairs and play with her young son after years of living with obesity.
She tried a long list of ways to improve her health when her doctor gave her a life-changing prescription for Ozempic, a semaglutide medication for diabetes that has been used off-label as a weight-loss drug.
“At first, I was really afraid and I didn’t really want to go on it because there was so much shame — in the media, in popular culture,” Canty-Currie said in a recent interview. “So I didn’t want to do it. I was scared.
“But finally he told me that it’s not only that you’re going to be losing weight, but you’ll also lower your risk of obesity-related diseases.”
The mother from Île-Perrot, Que., has since lost 22 pounds in 30 weeks. The medication has made everyday tasks easier, such as being able to sit on the floor in positions that were once difficult during playtime with her son.
Canty-Currie is thrilled with the results, but not with the hefty price tag: Ozempic costs nearly $500 per month — and all of it is out of pocket.
Quebec’s health insurance board, known as RAMQ, currently doesn’t cover Ozempic and similar weight-loss medication unless they are prescribed for patients who are diagnosed with diabetes. The province also remains one of the few jurisdictions that doesn’t recognize obesity as a chronic illness.
Canty-Currie doesn’t have diabetes so she has to pay hundreds of dollars every month to get her prescription.
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“The medication for those diseases that you get from obesity are covered. So why aren’t we putting more money into prevention?” Canty-Currie said.
Quebec internal medicine specialist Dr. Yves Robitaille considers obesity a chronic disease. He argues people suffering from it should have equal access to medication.
“Treating obesity is not about lowering the number,” Robitaille said. “It’s about reducing the risks of all the diseases and complications associated to the state of obesity.”
Quebec’s national institute for excellence in health and social services released a report last month recommending the province undertake a two-year pilot project to see if RAMQ should cover the costs of weight-loss medication for obesity.
The provincial government has said it is analyzing the report.
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Calls grow for Quebec to recognize obesity
An online petition was also launched this week to push the Quebec government to recognize obesity as a chronic disease and improve access to weight-loss drugs. It also notes a little more than 28 per cent of the Quebec population is considered obese.
As of Thursday, the petition had 172 signatures. Supporters argue the government needs to do more to fight obesity and control the rising health costs that come with it. The official Opposition Quebec Liberals are among those backing the request.
Cynthia Falardeau, a spokesperson for Obesity Matters, is part of those efforts. She described how medication has played a role in her own treatment.
Making those drugs more accessible can “perhaps save lives” and give other Quebecers with obesity who struggle with weight loss a “better quality of life,” she said.
“I want to be here today to … allow others to have the chance to experience what I experienced, to have access to medication, to have access to this weight loss in order to avoid having the diseases associated with obesity,” she told reporters during a news conference Wednesday.
The calls come on the heels of a recent Leger poll commissioned by Novo Nordisk, the company that makes Ozempic. The poll surveyed 1,068 respondents on obesity and weight-loss drugs.
Novo Nordisk says 80 per cent of those surveyed believe the Quebec government and public health system should do more to help those living with obesity.
But others worry the push for Quebec to recognize obesity as a disease could have negative consequences.
Mickaël Bergeron, author of La vie en gros: regard sur la société et le poids, told The Canadian Press that assuming a person who is overweight is also sick is a major societal barrier.
“There are plenty of fat people who are in excellent health and who have no particular issues. If we label it as a chronic disease, it could fuel this prejudice.”
— with files from Global’s Katie Dangerfield and The Canadian Press