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.

If it saves the NHS a significant amount of money in the long run then who are you to judge whether a person’s “relationship with food” has changed?

So maybe they should make prescribing GLP1s easier to ease the problem.

It’s been clear from studies going back 80 years that diets don’t work.

You think obese patients have a severe psychiatric illness like anorexics???

Honestly who really cares? And why do you care what anyone else thinks? Your body, your medical history, your choice - end of. If your doctor has deemed you a good fit for this or any other medication then WTF has it got to do with anyone else? And as for it being available on the NHS - don’t people realise the money that will be SAVED from giving people weight loss injections that will prevent them having costly and risky procedures in the future? The number two cause of cancer is obesity! These drugs help prevent the problem - much more cost effective than treating it after the fact.

There are 2% of adults in the UK who are underweight, of those I am afraid I can't find a percentage for "morbidly underweight". There are vanishingly few beds for those with anorexia than need it, so the "thousands" its costs for those few patients in the UK is far outweighed (pun intended) by the multiple millions that are currently being spent on those with obesity.

I couldnt get any help at all with my ED other than help from BEAT. Literally nothing. My own GP said "Women in their 40's dont get anorexia". Teenagers are receiving no help. How much are we costing them? Naff all.

I've just come across this thread, so I apologise if this question has already been asked. But, what drugs would you remove to allow WLIs to be prescribed outside of the current criteria?

@PyongyangKipperbangthe lack of services for people with mental health issues is not the responsibility of those with obesity. It’s the responsibility of the NHS and the government. Nobody is saying people struggling with anorexia don’t need or deserve appropriate treatment - of course they do! But that is completely independent of any other group of patients. It shouldn’t be and isn’t an either or.

Why would any drugs have to be removed? WLI will SAVE the NHS money in the long run.

I agree, it shouldnt be. But it is!

The fact is that the current focus on obesity is at a direct detriment to other patients. It is well know that MH is vastly underfunded and its very easy to understand why people are so angry that the results of poor choices are being given vast amounts of money over people with a life ending mental illness.

If you couldnt get any help at all because your child started suffering with psychosis and then your neighbour shared how he was getting his WLI on the NHS, to lose his beer gut when you know he eats from the chippy every day before going to the pub, how the hell would you feel?

"Should" and "Ought to" are all very well, but the reality is that lives are being lost that could be saved because the funds are being directed elsewhere.

In many cases yes, but starving yourself is a far more dangerous presentation of an eating disorder.

When morbidly obese though any psychological issues are ignored because it’s far easier to assume they’re just lazy. I don’t personally know anyone who doesn’t have an underlying cause of their obesity, whether it’s an eating disorder, a physiological condition, a drug reaction. It’s very difficult to tell though because the dismissal is the same, until you reach breaking point, either mentally or physically, and then it carries on some more.

Personally I think those who are firmly ‘against’ WLI are a bit jealous they can’t (for whatever reason) have it. They can’t afford, aren’t eligible, or simply won’t allow themselves to explore it and therefore they’re against it. I mean it’s hardly going to work long term for anyone let’s face it but having concerns about it is quite different to being against it.

@PyongyangKipperbanghow would I feel? I would be glad for him that he was getting the help he needed and I would understand that I’m not privy to all of his health information.
I would also be spending my energies proactively advocating for the help my LO needed rather than stewing in misguided jealousy.

Yeah, of course you would...

You are wrong. Obesity is NOT classed as an eating disorder, because unlike anorexia, it isn’t considered to be a mental disorder. Multiple factors contribute obesity, and while mental health may play a role in some cases, this doesn’t make it a psychiatric condition.

It might not be, but for many it is. One day there will be more knowledge around it and far more effective treatment in prevention and control.

A lot of ignorant assumptions about obesity, from the medical community and beyond.

Yes, everyone should get the treatment they need. I'm glad you see my point.

I couldn't give less of a shit and tend to side eye people who give too many shits about what other people do with their own grown up flesh suit.

27?!

I can’t vote because I fully support people getting mounjaro on the nhs or privately as long as they meet the proper criteria of high enough bmi.

I do get annoyed by those few with only a stone or whatever to lose lying to get it.

Someone suggested that taking GLP1s is transferring one addiction to another, which is a ridiculous comment. Would you say that asthmatics are addicted to their inhalers?

Theres now growing information showing that it’s helping with addiction. People no longer feeling cravings for alcohol for example, impulsive behaviour decreasing. It’s improving mental health. It’s addressing and highlighting factors in obesity that will enable more thorough research into the causes of it.

People are allowing their hatred of fat to inform their opinions on treatment for obesity.

But diet's do work!
I have a low UPF diet, it does have the desired effect of feeling better and I lost some of the extra weight I am carrying.

I'm currently doing what is known as carb loading for a multiday hike next week- ok I put some weight on (that I will have lost by day 3 hiking up & down some mountains!)

The question is, does the average obese person care enough about themselves to embrace a diet with low UPF's, lots of plain vegetables, fruits and meals cooked from scratch? Do they have the skills and time?

WLI are just creating a dependency that will make some companies billions! Billions that will be paid by individuals, governments and health services.

I think a big part of the issue is that it isn't the silver bullet people think it is. The majority of users put the weight back on when they stop, and the NHS can't fund the 60+% of the population, who are overweight or obese, to be on these drugs indefinitely. It's a very difficult one! There needs to be a threshold somewhere, but perhaps a BMI of 40, which is super morbidly obese, is too high. Maybe 35 would be fairer, but then do you run the risk of people, with for example a BMI of 33, gaining weight just to qualify.

This is completely why I stopped, combined with uncomfortable side effects (mainly diarrhoea and painful wind), and I found it was increasingly ineffective - as time wore on I was almost “getting used” to it and what I ate was increasing even while taking it.

Its definitely useful for some people but has to go hand in hand with lifestyle changes, which is what I’ve done for the last several months, and so far so good.

Definition of addiction:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/addiction

WLI are creating a dependency. It's not addressing the rout corse of the problem.

Some people seem to be rather delusional about the state of the NHS (or the nations finances in general). We literally cannot afford to treat everyone for everything, indefinitely. The scope of NHS responsibility cannot expand infinitely.