The Ozempic era is just getting started…
This year, it felt like there was nonstop news about Ozempic and similar drugs that can lead to dramatic weight loss and other health issues benefits.
As more of these medications hit the market, more patients started pressing for the drugs, and more doctors started embracing them. Two trends particularly fascinated this year: Mental health professionals began offering the drugs to counteract weight gain from psychiatric medications, and some people in menopause who were struggling to lose weight turned to them.
The interest in these drugs also moved beyond treating diabetes and weight loss — researchers reported that one of the drugs, Wegovy, could cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes for some people. The expanding footprint of these medications might just be one of the biggest story lines in 2024.
…and the Covid era hasn’t really ended.
Officially, the Covid public health emergency ended this year, a significant milestone as the pandemic settles into a new phase. That transition made it difficult for many people to get Covid tests and newly updated vaccines, even as the virus remained a major presence in our lives. New variants keep emerging, and many of us have found ourselves in what feels like an endless cycle of infection and recovery.
…as did the harms of drinking.
You might not want to hear it but the evidence has become painfully clear that alcohol is bad for you. New research this year found that deaths tied to drinking are rising among women faster than they are among men, with the gap between genders narrowing particularly for people 65 and older. And more evidence emerged that alcohol raises the risk of cancer, particularly breast cancer and colon cancer.
For the “sober curious” among us, Dry January offers a chance to think intentionally about drinking in the new year — and a mind-set to consider keeping throughout the year.
And what’s old became new again.
If there’s one reliable rule about the otherwise unruly world of wellness trends, it’s that while fads might fizzle, they never truly die.
This year, Zoomers brought back cottage cheese, long overshadowed by Greek yogurt, and raved about its health benefits. People sought out ashwagandha, an ancient herb, in an attempt to ease their anxiety. And Starbucks splashed olive oil into coffee, getting in on the popularity of a Mediterranean diet mainstay that people have also been swirling into yogurt, ice cream, really just about anything. Some people on TikTok, hoping it could clear their skin, drank olive oil straight from a shot glass.
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