Ozempic, Wegovy and similar drugs are being touted as helpful for seemingly every condition under the sun, but we need to pump the brakes a bit, writes Andre Picard.Hollie Adams/Reuters

Not a day goes by, it seems, without GLP-1 weight-loss drugs making news.

Ozempic, Wegovy and the like, already part of our vernacular, are being touted as helpful for seemingly every condition under the sun, from heart disease to cancer, dementia, addiction, and more.

There are so many purported benefits of GLP-1 agonists beyond treating obesity that The Economist dubbed them “the everything drugs,” and declared boldly that “drugs like Ozempic will change the world.”

It’s hard to argue with that prediction.

More than 40 million Americans have already tried GLP-1 drugs, with an estimated 16 million current users. Add to that about 1.4 million Canadians, with 25,000 new prescriptions weekly in North America.

But we need to pump the brakes a bit. Despite their potential, and our great enthusiasm for them, these drugs are not cure-alls.

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Glucagonlike peptide-1 receptor agonists, GLP-1 for short, mimic a hormone the body produces to regulate........

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