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.

People want to talk on a talk forum. You gave your opinion, people responded. This is an emotive subject, maybe you didn't realise that but the opening post makes it quite clear that obese people taking these prescribed injections receive a lot of judgement for it. It doesn't feel fair especially when those criticising are so badly informed but rush to judgement anyway. If you say something that is wrong, even if you made a mistake in your phrasing, people will argue.

And opinions do have a bearing. Obese people have already experienced years of judgement and stigma for their weight. It's 'only' other people's opinions, but it isn't pleasant. It is hurtful. And when you're doing your best, when you've tried very hard and failed over and over again through your life and then try something that works and people judge you again for that and tell you that you will suffer dire consequences, you do want to explain to those people that they're wrong and why they're wrong.

The side effects and possible issues don’t sound worth it to me

Luckily that’s completely irrelevant to someone else’s decision or not to take the meds 💁🏼‍♀️

@Dreamskies , can I ask, for someone who doesn’t want the drugs, and who isn’t going to take them, and no one is asking you to take them, why are you all over these threads telling everyone your concern? Repeatedly.

I mean if I want interested in doing something I’d not be haunting threads on it and repeatedly posting.

your decision, your concern, is totally irrelevant to everyone else.

But she’s not trolling, ‘cos ‘that’s not what it means’ 🤦🏽‍♀️

I asked the same question but got no answer, it's a bit strange to be so invested, I mean I wouldn't hang around a thread about botox and give my opinions and concerns if I wasn't planning on doing it myself, I'd have zero interest as there are so many other threads that would actually interest me, thats ust me though😊

Exactly. I’ve never seen such a heavy level of emotional investment in something you don’t want, don’t take, and importantly no one is asking you to take.i mean i get being bored, slightly curious, posting once or twice, but repeatedly going on about how you don’t want them, you have concerns, how it’s not worth it to you etc, is just odd, when no one is asking you to take them.

You said there will be side effects in five, ten and twenty years. People disagreed.

You said there are safer ways to lose weight which work. People disagreed.

It seems like you might be the person most upset by people disagreeing with your opinions, not those of us who are arguing with you.

It's not putting words in your mouth to challenge the things you've said. Your comment on your acquaintance taking the injections was judgemental: you think she doesn’t need her prescribed medication and should lose weight in the way you deem superior. So yes, people on here taking the injections have tried to explain to you why you're wrong about that.

I don't want to prolong a disagreement, really happy to leave it there. I just want to explain why I've responded to your comments.

Yes. I wondered if you were feeling concerned about this class of drugs, or whether this was a generalised worry, given they all pass through the same licensing processes.

So what if it is? Isn't liposuction cheating? Tummy tuck, botox, teeth veneers, false nails, fake tan, spanx underwear. Who cares.
Look after yourself the way you want.

Correct me if I'm wrong but are you implying a gastric bypass is an acceptable treatment for obesity but the drugs carry higher risk?

If that's the case you are completly wrong, surgery is mostly the riskier option, only being done if it can't be treated in other ways. This is true in obesity.

"This study highlights that bariatric surgery, such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy, remains a highly effective intervention for weight loss and management of obesity-induced complications. However, semaglutide represents a valuable noninvasive alternative, offering significant weight reduction and lower risks of adverse effects. The choice between these interventions should be based on individual patient characteristics and a comprehensive assessment of the risk-benefit profile."

This review highlights this very well
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37905277/

So in short for the treatment of obesity this drug is effective and carry a lower risk then other medical interventions. If we want to compare to continuing to be obese well there are millions of studies that highlight the hundreds of diseases that obesity contributes to.

I hope this puts your mind at rest about you friend who is taking a prescribed medication to treat a disease she is suffering from.

OK so eat less is your point?
But that's been the advice for decades. How are obesity rates going?

As i said up thread, if you really want to target obesity you need to start before the disease starts. So on a population level invest in infrastructure for active living, sports availability specifically in deprived areas( Costs money). Tax the absolut fuck out of UPF and make them unattainable essentially forcing healthy eating in early life ( would be highly unpopular so can't see a goverment doing it)

So if you think about T2 diabetes, for example you can prevent it by eating healthily and exercising ( like alot of obesity related conditions) but once you end up in a position that it has progressed to a disease, other interventions are required to adequately treat it. So saying to someone with t2 diabetes, well you need to just go on a diet is not useful alot of damage is already been done and the body is not making sufficient insulin.

The same is true in obesity. Once you have gotten to the stage of being obesity your bodies internal food ques are dysregulated. One of the hormones obese people don't make enough of is GLP1. So when obese people calorie restriction their internal signals ( such as GLP1 ) tells them to eat more.

In the same way in diabetes your body stops responding and then making insulin. Therefore these drugs treat the disease and allow the patient to eat less and more healthily.

That’s my opinion and it’s not for you or others to tell me that’s wrong

Why is it not our place to tell you your opinion is wrong?
If you have an opinion that someone else doesn’t need something, but they do need it, then you are wrong and it’s important to tell you so!

Yes and the reason they can't do it without the drug is because there hormones are dysregulated. These drugs target and fix the dysregulation.

In the same way t2 diabetes drugs target insulin and blood glucose both directly and indirectly.

This is such a weird take that keeps coming up on mumsnet. Of course it’s possible for someone’s opinion to be wrong!

Lets take an example:

I need to drink water to live- that’s a fact. If your opinion is I don’t need to drink water to live, then your opinion is wrong.
Fact.