AIBU to seek a consensus on who is a socially acceptable recipitent of Mounjaro?

[Periperi2025]

So it seems that much of mumsnet and society judge users of WLI extremely harshly seeing them as fat and lazy people who should just eat less, move more and use more willpower. But apparently not all of us, some of us after divulging enough medical history as 'okay'..."not you just the other fatties!!"

So, are people with diagnosed endocrine and metabolic conditions, acceptable?

What about people with undiagnosed endocrine and metabolic disorders, it's taken me over a decade to get to the point i am now, which is under endcrinology with a confirmed 'problem' and a working diagnosis but nothing more, my story is sadly far from unusual. You don't know who they are, they don't know who they are (although they may have astrong inkling), quite the conundrum!!

What about people with diagnosed Type 2 diabetes, who once were also just fat people without type 2 diabetes (mostly)?

What about people who are just fat now but statistically likely to develop type 2 diabetes in the future, like the current Type 2 diabetes patients were 10 years ago?

What about the people with severely disordered eating? As a society and a health service we deem it justifible and, hopefully preferrable to treat Anorexia Nervosa, including as inpatients at great expense (£500+ per day in the NHS), compared to treating an obese eating disordered patient with Mounjaro at a cost of approx £9 per day to the NHS for the highest dose. Presuambly in a civilised society we think that both groups of patients deserve a chance at a better quality life and improved life expextancy, and we dont think that Anorexics should just eat more and move less?!

So my AIBU is?
Are all of the above groups socially acceptable recipitents of Mounjaro?

YABU - no there are not all acceptable the gluttunous, lazy, weak willed cheats.

YANBU - of course they are all socially acceptable recipitents given that they meet the prescribing criteria for Mounjaro which has been accessed for Risk vs Benefit via peer reviewed research.

Nah I see a lot of people almost wishing for GLP-1 users to get some sort of horrible side effect. No free lunch and all that.

Interestingly, and purely for aesthetics, GLP-1s are heavily used by bodybuilders in the US. It’s an easy way for them to get their body fat percentages low without going through extreme dieting.

Thanks OP - the title made me smile. Just sums up being overweight, having ED’s etc. Everyone feels so entitled to an opinion and not only that but to voice it loudly and forcefully. Nobody knows the ins and outs of another’s medical and mental health history.

No there isn't. But if you think there is a country that has managed to curb an obesity crisis like the UK has (about 2/3 overweight and about 25% obese) using your proposals, tell us which one it is. Prove the claim. You keep saying things are obvious and certain, so if that's the case you'll be able to show us some evidence.

And yes, obesity is something that can be medicated away. With WLIs. Those are a lifestyle change because they make people eat less. The evidence for that actually exists, whereas we have none at all that actually achieving lifestyle change without them is possible. You simply keep repeating your quasi religious mantra, and meanwhile the NHS teeters.

OK, so keep demanding lifelong medicine from the teetering NHS. See where that gets you. We don't have to agree. But don't complain when treating obesity medically becomes unsustainable.
Medication isn't a lifestyle change.

But @Digdongdoo you could argue that at £6.5 billion a year to the NHS right now, treating obesity is unsustainable!!!!

Well yes. The NHS is barely sustaining the current burden. And we've still got an elderly population boom to come. I wish anyone relying on the NHS for WLI luck.

We might agree if you were to post some evidence for your claims, but tellingly enough you haven't.

The fact remains that we already know WLIs work and that telling people to diet and exercise doesn't. Your ideas involve the NHS pissing money away for the sake of your uninformed belief system, whilst denying people access to what we know actually works. It's one thing for the NHS to limit access now whilst it's so expensive and the rollout needs to be managed, but the idea that this should be ongoing policy because you wish human bodies worked differently is grossly irresponsible. We simply cannot afford to indulge ourselves with evidence free ideals.

You don't have evidence that use of WLI enmasse will "work" either. WLI only work for the person taking them, for as long as they take them. Endless rollouts with no other changes = endlessly growing bill. I'm not sure how you think it will play out in the long run. Perhaps you could evidence long term affordability and efficacy on a population level?

Why do you care? I'm on Wegovy & am very open about it, idgaf what anyone else may or may not think. If it was a jab for alcoholics to stop them drinking alcohol and help them be healthier and happier, I'd support those people in wanting to make a positive lifestyle change. I view weight loss jabs the exact same way. And yes, I do know people who have lied and used fake images of themselves to get the jabs when they have something like 10lbs to lose, and I'm over here with 100lbs to lose, but I cannot bring myself to care. It's nothing to do with me what anyone else does, and nothing to do with anyone else what I do.

Its socially acceptable for anyone to have it if they pay for it.
The NHS should only pay for it if they meet the NICE guidelines the same as any other drug and treatment provided by the NHS, including IVF, cancer drugs etc.

You first.

We already have evidence for how use of WLIs work for those taking them. I presume this is accepted and your point is that it's insufficient? You're at liberty to want eg longer term proof than the 00s, but that's not a position that can coexist with your previous claims that it's certain societal changes can be made that will tackle obesity.

You said there were changes we could make that would help and we could look to other countries, which ones and what changes? You clearly don't mean the US and how they reduced their obesity rates, so it's not clear who you're thinking of.

Hands up who is never, ever telling anyone about using WLIs after reading a few threads on here 👋

They want us to be fat as it’s more profitable but not so fat you die young and can’t procreate. So they will give you a solution to a problem they created in the first place, where the rich get richer. It’s a political problem

Me. 👋

Im not using it - because I can’t afford it.

I was slim until I became disabled in my 40s and the patronising bullshit that is spouted on here really irritates me.

I don’t eat processed carbs more than once in a blue moon. I have a treat day once a twice a month and the treat is a small bar of chocolate or equivalent.

I am taking loads of drugs that have weight gain as a side effect and I’m now in a wheelchair most of the time, although I do use crutches when I can.

I wish people weren’t so damned judgmental and didn’t just assume you were a greedy lazy pig because you’re overweight.

But they do. And I’ve been in tears over some of the comments here because they’re so bloody cruel.

@Periperi2025 but that's it. You cure or manage one condition/ health issue and create many more through medication. We are creating many more... so we need more medication and so on.
There's another way for many conditions but popping a pill or WLI are easier than actually changing things to accommodate our bodies and minds.

I'm not against medication if you are ill but I am against long term medication where the need has been created artificially again an issue with steroids and WLI.

I really wish the NHS would include mobility restricting illness in their prescribing criteria for mounjaro, at a much much lower bmi >30 or even >27 if risk/benefit balances out. The benefits for the patients would be obvious but also for the wider NHS/ social care work force. Without meaning to sound offensive, but as a paramedic we frequently risk injury (potentially career ending) when manually handling obese patients with limited mobility.

I hope the rules change and you can get it funded soon.

Yes, but that is modern medicine.

Do you propose patients who require steroids don't have them.

Using your logic ...What about cancer patients with second primary cancers as a result of their childhood cancer treatment, should we just not treat them a second time round as it is their fault for 'opting' for treatment the first time, and having the audacity to survive?!

If someone is obese as a result of medication side effects or a chronic health condition that is no longer fatal due to modern medicine then we should recognise and manage obesity like we do any other side effect.

Yup. My husband and my very best friend. Nobody else. Not even other people who are on them 🫢

“What about the people with severely disordered eating? As a society and a health service we deem it justifible and, hopefully preferrable to treat Anorexia Nervosa, including as inpatients at great expense (£500+ per day in the NHS), compared to treating an obese eating disordered patient with Mounjaro at a cost of approx £9 per day to the NHS for the highest dose. Presuambly in a civilised society we think that both groups of patients deserve a chance at a better quality life and improved life expextancy, and we dont think that Anorexics should just eat more and move less?!”

You’ve clearly never been anorexic, because when I was that was exactly the attitude people had. I should just eat more. As for £500 a day treatment, I never saw a sniff of that. I got two courses of psychotherapy and a prescription for SSRIs, and that was with a BMI of 12. My parents paid thousands and thousands for my treatment. I’m very grateful they did as I wouldn’t be alive without it.

It’s besides the point though. If someone is obese and needs help loosing weight, the jabs are a much better option for them than risking diabetes and heart disease. It’s better for them an cheaper for the NHS.

The only people who should be shamed are the rich and famous taking these jabs to loose 10lbs when they are already a low healthy weight. That’s eating disorder behaviour.

I totatally respect you decision and understand why, but when your weighloss becomes obvious, and someone asks you directly how you lost it, what do you answer? Because surely if you say that you just ate less and moved more, then that is fueling the problem and feeding into these societal attitudes.

Basically we can't win because weightloss is so visible, many people will always feel, therefore, that it is fair game to comment on it publicly.

But my point is that (hopefully) nobody would negatively judge someone needing and accessing this kind of healthcare for Anorexia, but the same can't be said for attitudes towards obese people accessing WLI who are frequently judged extremely harshly.

The woeful lack of funding for mental health services is a completely seperate issue to societal attitudes.

I’m on steroids.

I have a face like a moon.

But according to some on here I should just move more and eat less.

My target on a normal day is 1,000 calories. I need to be at 800-900 to lose weight and I just can’t do that long term.

If is not about social acceptability it is about costs vs benefits. At the moment the economic benefit of opening NHS prescriptions more widely is not big enough to offset the costs.

Anorexia carries a significant mortality rate and treatment is needed more urgently than for obesity which has longer term risks. It also affects only 1 in 200 women (lower in men) compared to obesity which affects 1 in 4.

If obesity was approached like anorexia treatment rather than just prescribing drugs there would be referral to a specialist obesity clinic with psychologicical therapy as well as nutritional support which would be unaffordable.

I suspect GLP1 criteria will expand as costs fall and the evidence base rises but it will take time. Ideally also GLP1s also need to be delivered alongside other lifestyle support otherwise health issues will persist (e.g. loss of muscle mass, lack of key nutrients etc) and this is currently unaffordable for everyone who is overweight.

Yes I would because I’m a decent human being and recognise that the world does not revolve around me or my loved ones.

It might not be in YOUR opinion but I am definitely not wrong!
I also stated clearly multiple times it is not the only cause of obesity! 🙄