All these weight loss drugs... surely we are heading towards disaster?

[shellswirl]

So as we all know there are various weight loss drugs that have become very popular in recent months.

It seems like the whole of Hollywood is using it.

Even regular people are spending huge amounts of money on it from online pharmacies.

I get that these drugs might be useful for certain people with real medical conditions, but really a lot of people are using it as a quick fix to be thin.

With no consideration to side effects or future health. And without thinking about what happens when you stop it?

Surely the best way to lose weight involves no drugs. No fad diets. But exercising more, moving more, eating a balanced diet. Retraining your brain and finding food and exercise you enjoy.

I say this as an overweight person too! Surely there are other ways.

If every other person is taking these drugs won't there be a huge pool of people to monitor side effects etc?

Aibu to say the whole thing makes me feel very uneasy.

@Itsrainingten I can speak from experience that it definitely helps me not crave/want alcohol. I can stop at one glass, and even then, i'll often choose to not have one/drive instead while before I would be "tempted to be social". My friends who are big drinkers on the same medication types have noticed the same side effects, and it is hugely positive.

Maybe try looking it up before coming up with rubbish like this?!

They sound like they work!

Great thread raising awareness OP!

@DownWithThisKindOfThing do you think obesity itself causes the hunger & cravings? So you won’t have them when off it in healthy weight bracket?

No.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

If your self esteem is so low, you’re worried that unhealthy obese people will become not obese and be “competition” for aesthetics, you need to figure out how to help yourself.

I suspect the naturally thin/able to stay thin eating 1600 calories 3gym sessions a week don’t appreciate this doesn’t work for anyone. Their views of lazy slob really can’t compute the issues many have in losing weight.

These drugs do appear to be able to help those who can't lose weight by eating less running round more. It sounds like these drugs can override some of the barriers to weight loss. Why wouldn’t people embrace that.

I guess if people aren’t obese will those who currently berate them lose their sense of superiority

Because diets and exercise ALONE don't work, because there are all sorts of factors which mean that the person keeps reaching for the food.

Other things like alcoholism have now been medicalised too, a lot of people can't stay off the drink by just not drinking and going to AA, some people have needed medication which reduces the desire for alcohol. And it's only with the medication that they can actually stay off the drink

The weight loss drugs seem to give a lot of people freedom, they are free from constantly thinking about food and craving food and trying to resist urges for food. Some people have referred to it as 'food noise'... constant thinking about food and what they'll eat next and craving this and that and worrying about food and feeling guilty about food and I'm sure there's a lot more to it but I don't experience it myself so I don't know but apparently it's very difficult to get it to go away.....the weight loss drugs seem to free people from that which makes a huge difference.

There's only one celeb that I've seen that is particularly gaunt on this. She admits to overdoing it and struggling to put weight on now but she has had previously well documented disordered eating.

But surely prevention is just as important as cure. These drugs help that.

Definitely a useful medicine for many, many who can't lose weight naturally. It will remove risk of so many ailments
People do look old on it as it takes all fat from everywhere, and who knows what implications there will be in 20 years.
But it's trade off many are willing to take

@pantsalot many in certain demographics/pockets are on it for cosmetic reasons alone.

Goodness me. Some of the comments here are no so unnecessary.

"You do you" it's not really that simple when this stuff we are talking about is at a society level. I'm not comfortable with this crap food industry and the solution being "take a pill".

And the speed at which we've gone from "exercise and diet is the way forward" to "that's too hard for most people so here's a pill" is shocking.

It is clearly being abused (whether people say it is or isn't) as we've heard from several diabetics that can't source it. We've seen that people can lie online to get it. We've seen celebs that are not obese using it.

We've seen that people are not educated enough about what is a healthy diet. So many claim to eat very little and the weight doesn't budge. It just can't be true for most. If you are in a calorie deficit then you will lose weight.

As for the personal digs at me. Like I can't have an opinion because I'm fat too. Wow. I just simply believe that we've opened the door to people abusing it. We don't know side effects fully yet. And there is a perfectly good alternative option which I have had success at, even if it is up and down and slow.

As for those that compare it to other diseases. It's just not the same is it. In cancer we take the drugs because the benefit is so great. Doing nothing will not have the same results. There is no safe alternative to chemo and drugs in cancer.

I’ve lost weight on Wegovy. I’m happier and healthier and don’t care if anyone judges me to have gone about it “the wrong way”. I can only live my life the best I can.

I mean if it makes the difference to people's lives it's got to be good hasn't it?
I'm currently alcohol free but if I fall off the wagon again I'd be super interested in seeing if I could get it prescribed for alcohol use disorder.
Thank you @costahotchocolatesaremyweakness for your opinion on that. It's super interesting

OP if this "perfectly good alternative option" is so successful, why are you still overweight ?

You really need to go read more about these medications before forming an opinion. It's less embarrassing that way.

Yes I haven't lived with it myself but I'm not sure why people don't understand it on some level without experiencing it.

It must be a lack of empathy.

I don't understand the exact feelings that a heroin user feels when they're craving heroin, or an alcoholic craving a drink or someone with obesity craving food, but I do understand that the feeling must be all encompassing, which should be obvious given the amount of drug users/alcoholics/people with obesity who can't resist the drug of choice even though it is causing them harm.

My understanding is that for a lot of people it turns off those addictive thoughts as you said, which is obviously a freedom that those without obesity take for granted because our brains/hormones aren't constantly trying to tell us to eat stuff that we shouldn't or to keep eating more and more.

I've always been slim and can of course crave stuff and I can binge too occasionally but I don't have cravings all day long or the desire to binge very frequently.

I think that's what some people think, that the cravings that people with obesity get are just the same as those who are a normal weight....but that the only difference is that slim people have better self control. No, slim people who have never had food issues just aren't bombarded with cravings constantly. So therefore it's a lot easier to have self control.

So true! And well done!

@tennistimetomorrow embarrassing?! Don't get you? I'll never be embarrassed to start debate and discussion. It's too important.

You know nothing about me. I've been much heavier. I've certainly been more unfit too. As I said it's a work in progress. I've been damaged by fad diets in the past. I do believe slow and steady and long term plans are the way forward. Making healthy eating a way of life. And not putting disordered eating on our kids like my parents did to me.

Childbirth pain won't kill most of us, but we make use of the pain medication. We are lucky to be living in an era of advanced medical research.

https://www.aaas.org/news/innovators-glp-1-obesity-bhaumik-breakthrough

And there is a perfectly good alternative option which I have had success at, even if it is up and down and slow.

It can't be considered a perfectly good alternative if it hasn't worked.
That's the method that the health departments have been promoting now for God knows how long and it has had very little success.
Therefore alternatives had to be found.

What I mean is it is embarrassing to have such a strong opinion on a topic that you have so little knowledge of. Please, please read up on these medications. They are a breakthrough in the world of science.

@shellswirl but that’s all on you, they are your issues to unpack, it’s not for you to foist your options on everyone else and judge them for their choices because they are different to yours. Why are other people’s choices important to YOU? You can’t change or control them so why?

Yes. Any decent doctor can see that taking drugs designed for someone with diabetes will f over a body who doesn’t need them. But well apparently these people don’t want to hear it

. I do believe slow and steady and long term plans are the way forward.

That's you Op. your beliefs. Seems like plenty here don't agree with you.....also sounds like your dieting isn't working too well

@Appalonia I agree about high fat, low carb- I lose weight that way even at 62, I don't do keto though but stick to under 100g of carb a day. I eat lots of 10% Greek yoghurt, berries, tinned fish, eggs, lots of Longley farm cottage cheese (food of the gods) chicken, even small amounts of quality sausages etc - plus salad and veg - it doesn't come off mega fast but have lost 2 and half stone in 18 months and eat really well by being really conscious what I eat- I was just at the very low end of pre diabetes but am now 4 points under- although still want to lose another 2 and a half stone. Even then BMI would be about 27.

I don't necessarily think though that people don't have time to cook- I think the proliferation of fast food and ready meals has changed a lot of people's tastes and they and often family members don't actually want things that are quick and easy to cook (and healthy) like stir fry's or omelettes and salads - they kind of want to replicate fast food at home, so will reach for the pizzas or ready meals covered in cheese or stuff in batter/breadcrumbs that require no prep at all, rather than minimum prep- i discovered with men and teens in particular so many want snacks they can just reach in the fridge it cupboard and grab and eat' rather than reach to the fruit bowl or make themselves peanut butter on toast etc- so again there are loads of unhealthy snacks requiring no effort. It's partly I think an attitudinal thing and it can be family members in some cases sabotaging other people's good intentions.

I for one put a ban on biscuits in the house!