CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As we approach summer, people are starting to work on their summer body, and for some, that means using medications that could help shed the weight.

What You Need To Know

With popularity growing for weight loss medications, inquiries are growing more than 50% for a medical clinic as summer approaches

High demand for medications like Ozempic have lead insurance companies to no longer cover it for weight loss purposes

Medical professionals say a healthy relationship with food and exercise are still necessary when using weight loss medication

Dr. Joy White, owner of White Diamond Medical Clinic and Spa, says inquiries are up about 50% this spring.

"A lot of people come in wanting to inquire about medications. My goal is to help understand that it is a way of life. You have to change how you look at food, how you look at yourself and just wanting to have a better outcome," said White.

Recently, some insurance companies stopped covering Ozempic for weight loss purposes because such high demand is driving the price up. Ozempic is a diabetes treatment, which manages blood sugar levels and leads to weight loss due to suppressed appetite. 

There are other options also, like Mounjaro, Wegovy and Zepbound.

White says it takes more than wanting to lose weight to be a good candidate for one of these medications.

"Even someone who is in the overweight range, it's not appropriate to give them medication unless they have another co-morbidity like high blood pressure, high cholesterol or pre-diabetic," said White.

Bridgette McConnell is one of White's patients and has been on Mounjaro for about a year. She says coupled with healthier eating habits and walking exercises, she has lost 50 pounds. McConnell says she wants to live a healthy lifestyle, and the medication has helped her maintain weight loss that was difficult to do on her own.

"I've done it about four times where I'm able to go to the gym doing all the eating and everything. The problem is that injuries and or health issues and things like that set you back and then starting over," said McConnell.

White says using these medications for weight loss purposes is a short-term solution. 

"Getting appropriate exercise, getting your rest, drinking water, all those things all still come into play," said White. "So it's not like a magic shot and then you can walk away from your responsibilities."