People who think weight loss injections are cheating

[AuntieDote]

I've seen this viewpoint over multiple threads recently, and I'm just really curious to understand it a bit more because it makes no sense to me whatsoever.

What do you think people using the injections are cheating at?

As in - what's the competition and who are they gaining an unfair advantage over? What do you think the rules of being allowed to lose weight are/ should be?

Is it more important to you that overweight people/ those struggling with obesity lose the weight, become healthier, reduce the burden on the NHS, stop taking up more than their allocated amount of space in the world, or just stop doing whatever it is that upsets people so much about the existence of fat people -- or is it more important that they struggle and suffer whilst doing so?

Or would you secretly prefer them to remain fat so you can feel superior?

Is it that you feel you've worked really hard to either lose weight, keep it off or never put it on in the first place, so nobody else should be allowed to achieve this without the same amount of struggle?

What do you think the weight loss injections actually do, and do you not recognise that those on them are also doing all the usual things people who are trying to lose weight e.g. modify their eating, exercise etc? Does it not count that they're doing these things because it's made easier in some ways by the drug?

What types of weight loss support or tools are not 'cheating'? e.g. I used hypnosis once and it worked for a bit, to the point that I felt pretty much the same way I do with the injections i.e. reduction in food noise and compulsion to snack etc. It didn't last anything like as long, but it worked for a time - was that cheating?

Would it still be cheating if they weren't as effective as they are?

FWIW, I really couldn't care less if people think I'm cheating - who cares? Who does it impact only me and my bank balance? If someone said here, press this button and you'll be a healthy BMI overnight and stay there forever I'd press it with both hands and not give a shit about how anyone felt about it.

But it's just the logic of it that baffles me - I've never seen it as a competition and have never felt like getting to or being a healthy weight only counts if it's done in a certain way - I suppose I'm not much interested in what size anyone else is or what they do to get that way, so I can't imagine for a second ever thinking another person was 'cheating' - only ever being happy for them if they're happy and hopefully healthy too.

I think what people have tried to explain is that with medicines, doctors and patients do a risk-benefit analysis. So yes, all medications have risks - from over the counter drugs like paracetamol to chemotherapy. There are side effects, some common and some very rare. Some mild and some extreme. That's true for every medicine. But being obese also carries risks. So these drugs can be prescribed where the risk of taking them is less than the risk of remaining obese. There are new drugs brought to market all the time, but these drugs have attracted a lot of judgement and criticism. However, there is nothing different about taking these medications as compared to taking other treatments. So it's odd for people to single out WLIs as being uniquely worrying when they aren't riskier than other drugs prescribed all the time. Everyone taking medication is taking a risk; life is full of risk. We make the best and most informed decisions on it that we can. These drugs are prescription only, so people are making that decision in conjunction with qualified professionals to mitigate those risks as far as possible.

Nope.
They are prescription only medication

No one can prescribe injections for themselves, you order it from pharmacies who prescribe it if you meet the medical criteria. If your friend is obese, she qualifies for the prescription. I don't think you're very well informed on this.

As for 'she can lose the weight in another way' - please look around. Obesity rates are rising all the time and the existing strategies we have to combat that are not translating into meaningful change. For whatever combination of factors and reasons, this is the case. The injections are giving results and they are giving people hope. You might think it's very straightforward for obese people to lose weight by other means but again, you aren't well informed on this and numerous studies will tell you that you're wrong.

Indeed. Strikes me that the DSM V manual is missing a crucial entry that covers health anxiety over the wellbeing of complete strangers. Who knew? I suffer from anxiety, but it’s only ever been focused on the needs and care of my close family members and my SEN children in particular. Perhaps I should take comfort in the fact that, if random strangers on the internet can be distressed about them too, the my anxiety levels are quite sane… a burden shared and all that.

you’re right, I’m not well informed on it, I stated that very clearly in my initial posts and I don’t profess to be anything other. I’m not interested in it as a drug, I have no need or desire to know a lot about it

So why don’t you just go away and leave those of us who do know about it to discuss its pros and cons in a constructive and meaningful way? What you are doing is no better than a rubbernecker on the motorway, gawking and slowing down the traffic as you do so.

OK well, you may or may not be aware that the WHO have classified obesity as a disease. This is now how it is categorised and treated by medical researchers.

I'm sure you are as horrified as I am by the people who prey on sufferers of other diseases eg cancer and tell them that chemotherapy is so dangerous and they can be cured by 'clean eating' or 'a healthy lifestyle'. There have been high profile cases, for example Belle Gibson, of despicable people who spread misinformation and fear in order to push their idea of how others should live their lives. Antivaxxers dissuading parents from protecting their children from deadly diseases so that there are countries in the world in the grip of lethal epidemics that could be prevented.

You are coming along, from a place of confessed ignorance, telling people with a condition that the World Health Organisation confirms is a disease and telling them to stay away from medical treatment and that they can and should cure it with a diet. You have nothing to back that up apart from limited anecdotal experience. But you still believe that you can and should try to sow seeds of worry and doubt among these people, advising them against conventional medical treatment.

I'm not pretending the world of pharmaceuticals and medical research is infallible and perfect. But it's better than people who haven't studied this at all coming along to give their unqualified advice on people's health.

Actually you have the absolute right of free speech, especially on fora such as these, but free speech comes with the moral obligation to not talk complete and utter bollocks, especially when doing so is dangerous and sows misinformation.

ETA Free speech also means I have the right to call you out on your BS. And will continue to do so while you insist upon trolling and harassing PPs on this thread with no obvious aim but to cause division and conflict.

I didn't say all drugs are safe; I specifically said all drugs carry risks and there has to be an analysis of the risks of taking them vs not taking them. Neither option is risk free.

when there’s potentially a safer option.

This is the sticking point. We're talking about obesity, not just being a bit overweight @dreamskies and that needs a different treatment. Your misinformed idea that there is a safer option that works on a population level is actually wrong.

I wouldn't take them, and if I want to lose weight then I just do what I need to do and lose it (and I'm in my 60s). I don't get "food noise", I eat a lot of UPFs and have done for years, but I'm not addicted. I am not obese, but am a little overweight, which I can change if I really want to. I take drugs if I have to, I don't if there are other ways of managing a condition.

While I agree that there are some people who are greatly helped by these injections I tend to think that there are others who are using them as a quick fix because they can't be bothered/don't want to put in the hard yards.

You're talking about a disease; you don't actually know how to treat it.

You also don't understand how the injections work. It is quite complicated. You are simplifying and misrepresenting it - because you don't know.

I think just please read what some obese people have written on these threads before you say things like this. Understand the injections are a treatment for obesity NOT for being 'a little overweight' and that obese people have more than enough experience of the hard yards. These threads make it so clear that people just do not know what obesity is in medical terms.

Your initial comment was about all the side effects that will appear in 5, 10, 20 years. You didn't say 'could'.