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Dolores Catania’s doctor is speaking out about the use ofOzempicafter theReal Housewives of New Jerseystar revealed she was taking the medication for weight loss.

Dr. Rocio Salas-Whalen is the physician at New York Endocrinology who prescribed Catania Ozempic, an FDA-approved prescription medication intended for people with type 2 diabetes which has becomepopular among celebritiesbecause of its appetite-regulating effects.

Salas-Whalen recently spoke toTodayand explained that no one should be judging whether someone needs to be on a medication like Ozempic simply based on their appearance.

“Whenever we see somebody that we may think they don’t need the medication, unless you’re their doctor, you don’t know their medical history,” she told the outlet. “You don’t know what medications they’re taking, you don’t know their internal health and the reasoning for a patient … to be on this type of medication.”

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Dolores Catania

While Salas-Whalen did not provide any details about Catania’s health, she explained that a lot of middle-aged women in perimenopause or menopause can experience weight gain or struggle to lose weight due to the hormonal changes, regardless of if they are living a healthy lifestyle.

“Menopause comes with many health complications,” she said. “There’s higher risk of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia — and if you add to that mix being overweight or having obesity, then we increase the risk for disease for the patient.”

“Entering menopause [at] a healthy weight is very preventative for long-term complications from aging and weight and menopause,” she continued. “Many middle-aged women, they benefit from this medication because it’s out of their control.”

Salas-Whalen toldTodaythat the medication can not only help those with family history of obesity, but it can improve the mental health of those who may have intrusive thoughts about food and weight.

Last week, Catania admitted toAndy CohenonWatch What Happens Livethat she’s been taking Ozempic.

“You look thin… Are you on Ozempic?,” Cohen asked her, to which she responded, “Yeah.”

Cohen jokingly questioned, “What housewife isn’t on Ozempic?”

“Not one… I wasn’t going to come to [the] reunion looking bigger than anyone else, so I got on the bandwagon,” the 52-year-old explained.

When Cohen asked her if she had experienced any side effects from using Ozempic so far, she said, “No, just not hungry.”

While some housewives may be on board with using the drug, others are not, including Catania’s fellow RHONJ cast memberJackie Goldschneider. She said on Page Six’sVirtual Reali-Teapodcast in February that she was “horrified” at how many people are taking Ozempic.

“I can talk about Ozempic all day. It gets me so fired up,” Goldschneider, 46, said, noting herrecovery from a 18-year eating disorder. “An eating disorder in a needle. [It’s] sad and sickening.”

source: people.com