BMI 26 - access to injections

[HeySnoodie]

I’ve tried to lose weight but struggle. My BMI is 26 with no weight related health issues, everything I’ve read highlights I’m not able to access and pay for injections.

Most privately available ones are restricted to 30 and over or 27 with certain health conditions. What's the AIBU?

Ofcourse you can. Many online health providers don't care. You just have to lie about your bmi that's all.

You have to provide photos and photo ID.

Well you're not obese so you won't be prescribed them.

Why are you trying to use a medication to treat a condition you don't have?

You are barely overweight. You do not need this medication. Don’t lie to get it.

There are millions of people on WLI with a BMI of 26 because once you lose the weight from BMI 30 you stay on the jabs…so obviously it’s fine to take at BMI 26.

Weirdly the answer is to put some weight on, get prescribed online and stay on them as you lose weight.

It makes no sense the ‘have to be BMI 30’ rule, I predict it will be dropped within a year.

This doesn't make sense.

It's a medication to treat obesity, a condition she doesn't have. What part doesn't make sense to you?

The difference is that once you're obese you've damaged your body and it's much harder to lose weight and maintain it. Obesity isn't cured just by losing weight. Someone with BMI 26 who has never been obese has not caused that damage to their body. Therefore the risks of taking medication to lose weight isn't balanced by the benefits of treating the condition of obesity because that person doesn't have it.

That’s a maintenance dose to prevent it going back up. Most will (or should) taper off.
A BMI of 26 is not a major health issue and should be more than possible to address without medication.

To prevent it going back up? Do you mean to prevent someone eating beyond their calorific need again. How is that any different to someone who is struggling with eating beyond their calorific need watching their weight slowly increase.

Can you help me understand how it is any different from telling someone with anorexia that they are too heavy for treatment. Why must you wait until someone has damaged their body so badly before intervention?

Would a low dose be sufficient in this case?

Someone who doesn't have obesity doesn't have obesity. Not everyone who is slight overweight will develop obesity. Having a BMI of 26 is not dangerous, having a BMI of 30 is.

Obesity damages the body. It makes it harder to lose weight and maintain weight loss. If you've never been obese then your body hasn't been damaged in that way.

Sorry but that makes no sense . Puberty , pregnancy , menopause all have a tendency to put weight on women. Stress, youth, old age can make you lose weight.

Everyone loses weight if they don’t get enough food though.

I agree the 26 BMI is pointless but I expect it’s more to stop the industry being branded as irresponsible. Weight is contentious.

If you're interested, go and research the effect of obesity on the body. I'm not bothered to explain it any further, you asked, I explained.

But there are many reasons that people find it harder to lose weight, you don't have to be overweight for that to happen.

I have lupus and pcos. I find it easy to maintain my weight but extremely difficult to lose it. Pregnancy and breastfeeding pushed my weight right up to the higher end of a normal BMI and it has been a battle for 1 year to try and lose it again through diet and exercise. The mental toll had been exhausting. You might say it's not dangerous to be slightly overweight but that doesn't take into account the bigger picture. Eg. As someone who but on 20kg in 9 months due to pregnancy my very petite body was not prepared to deal with such a dramatic weight increase in such a short time

I’m in this position and it makes no sense. Say if I was BMI 30 lost weight naturally now it’s 26 I wouldn’t be prescribed but if I’d been on them all along I could continue way past 26.

Utter bollocks they need to remove this arbitrary limit.

But obesity is the condition that GLP1s have been developed for. Not PCOS or other conditions. However I do agree that GLP1s should be used for weight loss in other circumstances than obesity - PCOS seems like a pretty likely one and I don't know much about lupus but if it impacts weight loss then that also makes sense. But people who ate just slightly overweight don't need medication to lose weight.

Yes 🙄 because much like an alcoholic who stop drinking isn't 'cured' from alcoholism, an obese person who loses weight doesn't stop having the physical damage caused by the condition of obesity.

A person who lost weight from BMI 32 to 26 isn't in the same situation as a person who has only maxed out at 26. Their bodies are not the same.

The cutoff for access surely has to be based on the BMI for obesity, otherwise it opens it up for anyone, including people with restrictive eating disorders. Sticking with the point where the weight is causing medical risks or problems is sensible and relaxing that rule would be incredibly dangerous.

It is a simple risk vs benefit thing. Be patient and watch and wait, I am sure something safer will come out for people in your position in a few years.

I like that explanation ,
makes perfect sense . Thank you

I felt the same as you OP, but there was a thread on here last week which has made me feel differently, ever since reading through comments I’ve realised the little bit I want to lose I can do on my own without taking medication, it’s changed my mindset. I’ll try find it, title is something like, who will NOT take Weight loss injections.

What if someone who had a BMI of 32, got it down to 28 themselves but are at risk of increasing again etc.

When you say you can't lose weight, what have you tried?