All these people taking weight loss appetite suppressant drugs?!!

[OnHerSolidFoundations]

Is it me or is this a bit sinister?

Most people are getting them via private prescriptions. The more reputable companies ask for a photo to “prove” that you are obese ( obviously you could cheat) but many don’t even do that hence you get people only slightly overweight using the drug. You can lie very easily on the online forms.

I am sorry but when you are 10 stone overweight, counting calories and moving more doesn’t really touch the sides. A lot of people who have had success with these drugs are not people with a few pounds to lose but who are essentially addicted to food. Going from morbidly obese to a normal weight can be life changing and cures a lot of dangerous health issues such as diabetes and sleep apnoea.

Exactly! Weight loss drugs + stopping the sale of cigarettes = hopefully money for the NHS to spend on other things.

Lots of science to suggest it's actually ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE for people with significantly raised BMIs (40 plus) to lose weight and keep it off for good with only lifestyle changes. Prof Rachel Batterham says the chance is about 1 in 4000.

Worth actually doing some research into how these drugs work and why they may be necessary for some patients (but much easier to denigrate the fat folks and big pharma).

I accept what you say is true. But the question remains, how will you fight your food addiction when you reach a normal weight and can no longer access these drugs (without paying privately and lying on the form, anyway).

Got to admit i considered asking GP about it, but the side effects put me off.

I'm very overweight, not been below 19st since i was in my early 20s. Illness, disability, insomnia, ASD/ADHD related food issues, catering to disabled kids with eating disorder (ARFID), comfort eating, medication. Etc, over the years has made it hard.

Currently giving Intermittent Fasting a go and using black, unsweetened coffee as an appetite suppressant.

Trying to lose weight when you're physically disabled and any activity causes fatigue/pain flares is a nightmare. There is only so much 'eat less' you can do on a budget.

I had an eating disorder since I was about 12 stemming from my gymnastics coach.

I was always painfully thin until I had our 4th child and hit peri menopause. Then my weight fluctuated to 13 stone despite me always, religiously eating a maximum of 1200 calories a day (like I have for my entire adult life) and walking a minimum of 10,000 steps a day.

Weight loss is way more complicated than eating less and moving more. Hormones play an enormous factor in weight fluctuation and weight loss.

I started Ozempic in October 2022. By the end of Feb 2023 I was back to 9 stone. I was still eating 1200 calories a day. Thankfully zero adverse effects from Ozempic.

Stopped taking Ozempic in April 2023 and I’ve been off it now for a year and despite still eating 1200 calories a day, I’ve gained nothing back.

I feel good. So I’m wondering how these types of drugs are sinister?

Also I think it's far more predatory and sinister for Weight Watchers, Slimming World etc to take people's money (many people over and over again over the course of their life) KNOWING their intervention doesn't work for good. At least these medications actually work.

I think buying over the internet from sometime dubious sources is sinister.
so many scammers about.

a prescription via a photo?
how can a dr do that without seeing a patient in person or at the very least in a live video?

I can afford it, have very minor side effects (bit of constipation) and have lost 2 and a half stone, resulting in massive health benefits.
Nowt sinister about it.

Well, you might think that's what you mean but it's not what you actually wrote.

All these 'shake for a meal' diet schemes are also essentially scams and not long term sustainable.

The problem with these threads is that people take offence based on personal experience, others make generalisations based on anecdotes and threads descend into insults and sarcasm.

The science at this point suggests that most people taking them will stay on these drugs their entire lifetimes to manage weight. Of course there are examples including on this thread who reset their exercise and food intake and manage fine without. So the drugs are hugely profitable to the pharma companies involved.

To listen to the case for the (lifelong) use of the drugs as an effective way to manage the obesity disease, an interesting podcast is Zoe’s discussion with Dr Robert Kushner in March 2023.

To listen to a voice who is against the widespread use of this, a decent podcast is the Diary of a CEO (Stephen Bartlett) interview with Dr Mark Hyman in April 2024.

People have been looking for a magic bullet to prevent obesity for years. I remember Olestra in the 90s - it was going to revolutionise weight control until people decided they didn't want to live with scalding liquid diarrhoea. In 20 years time we will be having the same conversation about some other magic bullet.

The ignorance on this thread is something else. Those who think drugs like weegovy and mounjaro are "fads" or quick fixes or the easy way out, clearly don't know what they're talking about.
Have a look at the published peer reviewed studies - these drugs do an awful lot more than suppress appetite, and their benefits are much more than weight loss, particularly for mounjaro.

I've been on Mounjaro for almost a month and it's already life changing. I did my homework and I had already completely changed my lifestyle about 4 months prior to even knowing it existed, to little effect on my weight, due to things like PCOS and insulin resistance, as well as other contributing issues I don't feel comfortable talking about here. It's prescribed properly, and my doctor is supportive. A way to describe it is, mounjaro gives me the brain of a naturally slim person. It isn't easy and I'm not eating shite without consequence. My diet on Mounjaro is naturally fairly low carb, high protein with lots of greens and mostly unprocessed food, other than things like clear whey protein drinks I have to help with muscle repair and to avoid losing muscle as I'm losing weight. I rarely eat sugary food - maybe once or twice a week I'll have a biscuit or a small bit of chocolate or popcorn or something. I just don't fancy it.
I workout (strength training) 3 times a week, usually getting up at 5am so I can go before work. I do 10k or more steps a day, and have a fairly active job. It's really hard to exercise in a bigger body, I can't wait until I'm slimmer and it becomes easier.
So far mounjaro kills my appetite for about 3-5 days a week (I'm on a low dose) but I eat the same every day. I can't eat too much or I'll feel too full. If I eat something really bad (once I had a mini sausage roll at a buffet) I'll feel ill the next day, so I won't do that again. And I never think about food. There's no food noise. I don't torture myself feeling guilty about what I've eaten or obsessing over calories or worrying about food. I have no cravings due to insulin resistance and unstable blood sugar. There's no emotional comfort from food. The lack of food noise and cravings means I choose better foods. Last night my family got a takeaway, but I cooked myself chicken breast and broccoli and it didn't feel like a sacrifice, it just felt ordinary.

I'm fully aware that those on this thread who think it's "sinister" or the easy way out will just dismiss me as a lazy dumb fatty, rather than the well educated striving-for-better woman I am, but maybe I'll be taken more seriously when I'm slimmer eh.

💯 that’s more accurate

My sister is a couple of stone overweight and a healthy (but relatively inactive) 29 year old. She went to the dr about her weight and said she just couldn’t lose it (she did a diet for a week and didn’t up her exercise at all) and the dr prescribed her tablets for weight loss. She now shits out orange oil but has lost the weight and I can’t for the life of me understand why she couldn’t have just been told to move more and burn more calories and lose weight the healthy way. She’s had quite a few stomach issues since starting this drug too but doesn’t care because she’s almost goal weight now. I don’t know what will happen when she comes off it.

Absolutely this ! I couldn’t have put it better myself my partner is on it and being monitored they only gave it because he has been seen to be helping himself plus he has diabetes type 2 and now he’s doesn’t have to take half the medication he was on it’s a winner for him life changing

Thank you. Will have a listen.

Absolutely this x

And when she gets older her mobility and strength will be really reduced. It's not just about being skinny ffs.

@AceOfCups

@BMW6 @Boxerdor

A lot of misinformation on here. Research studies now indicate that obesity is caused by an interplay of genetics and environmental causes where powerful hunger hormones have shown to play a huge part. It's not a choice.

So, some people are genetically predisposed to not feeling satiated in the same way as others, and their hunger hormones are strong drivers. If they then live in deprived areas where perhaps they have not been educated about food choices or there is lack of availability of healthy foods at reasonable prices (environmental factors), that obviously plays in. Not to mention that fast food gives a 'rush' and can become addictive.

Basically, hormones often function improperly in people with obesity. Leptin resistance is also common. This imbalance basically causes a powerful physiological drive to eat more and more.

I get why those who are 'naturally' skinny say it's down to their willpower but they don't have the interplay of these strong hunger hormones or lack of, and they feel satiated earlier so it's much easier for them to to stay on the straight and narrow, so to speak.

The new weight loss medications - initially developed for diabetes but investigated for weight loss when they found it was a side effect - reduce food intake by reducing appetite ad hunger whilst also promoting fullness and satiety. Some people on here talk about they are no longer always thinking about food like they did before. The reduction in cravings have also shown some promise that these meds may be able to be used to help those with other addictions (e.g. alcohol).

Of course, once you come off them the transition needs to be carefully managed as those other hormones (genetically predisposed) come into play again.

But it really isn't a 'choice'.

Well said x

The relationship between hormones and appetite is something im so surprised Noone ever talks about because everyone i know seems to have some experience of it. Me for example, I have a balanced and healthy diet 25 days a month and then 3 days when I am almost powerless to resist chocolate and greasy salty crap. I count my blessings that this injection of hormones is so shortlived, otherwise I'd be enormous.

So from this POV if the compulsion to overeat and indulge in bad foods can be purely hormonal/chemical a chemical response (ie appetite suppressant drug) is not illogical to me...Just as an antidepressant might counter a chemical imbalance of the brain?

Odd choice of words. There’s nothing sinister about it - these drugs work. Obviously if you don’t need to lose weight or prefer another method, then that is your decision (but no need to judge others for making a different choice).