The rise of the trend of GLP-1 and the pressure it brings?

[PiriPiriMenopause]

First of all I just want to say I have nothing against the choice people make for the injections at all, I think they’re great and they obviously work for people who need them! I totally get why someone would want to take it, and it really is transforming lives.

But I worry about the pressure this is bringing so the it. I’m a size 14 and pretty normal. At the moment I don’t have trouble buying clothes or getting stuff to fit. My BMI is about 26 which yes is higher than the recommended but not massively so.

So many people I know are on this drug! Honestly, in my normal every day life, I know of at least 15 people who are taking it. It’s working brilliantly and the results are fantastic they’re happy and it’s great, I love seeing how their confidence has turned on a sixpence. Some of the women were larger than me some were not that much larger than me or the same size.

I’m not sure if my experience is a reflection of what’s going on country wide or not. But AIBU to worry about the knock on effect this will have moving forward. I worry that a size 14 will soon become almost obsolete in the shops because people are no longer requiring larger sizes, I worry about the knock on pressure this will bring to those of us who can’t afford to take it or simply don’t want to or can’t take it. I worry about it becoming a culture for people of my daughter’s age and what it means for their confidence in future.

I’m just interested to see if I’m just being paranoid or if this is something other people worry about. There’s always been a massive pressure on women in particular with their size and appearance but this is the first time I’ve ever really felt it so extreme!

The vast majority of people can’t afford GLP.

I do think it will start to have an impact on the offerings of hospitality industry.

We have a massive overweight/obesity problem in this country, that is only getting worse.

Maybe ‘pressure’ to lose weight is a good thing?

I do think being obese will be an even stronger indicator of poverty than it is now. But if these drugs live up to their promise in reducing the massive burden of ill-health linked to obesity then I hope they will eventually be funded by the NHS for everyone who would benefit.

So many people I know are on this drug!

We are in different circles. I don't know anyone on this drug.

Honestly, in my normal every day life, I know of at least 15 people who are taking it. It’s working brilliantly and the results are fantastic they’re happy and it’s great, I love seeing how their confidence has turned on a sixpence.

Is this entire post a thinly disguised ad for GLP-1?

Size 14 isn't a "large" size. People taking injections for actual obesity aren't going to get down to a size 10, let alone maintain that size long term. Might be different for non-obese people who don't have much weight to lose, but again not all of them are going to maintain a very slim figure.

So no, I don't think size 14 clothes will become rare.

There is a massive cost to the NHS from obesity but… people have to die of something. An economist I read a book by said that part of the problem of the rising NHS bill is that people are dying of more expensive to treat things. In the 1960s so many people just dropped down dead with a heart attack in their 50s, or got cancer and died within 2 months or so.

I think people living longer, healthier lives if great, but it’s not going to save the state much money if people are going to die of dementia instead.

If you are genuine then this is a silly worry. If you are one of the regular faux concern crowd then try harder.

I really don’t think there’s a risk that size 14 will be wiped out.

As you say, you’re a size 14 and have a BMI of 26 - I know clothes sizes and BMIs aren’t perfectly correlated but there’ll be a huge number of size 14s who would not qualify for the jabs.
What’s the current max clothing size you can easily buy? I’d imagine it’s much higher than a 14 - sizes would have to come down massively before shops decided 14s weren’t worth stocking!

My BMI was over 50 when I started.

I'm a size 10 now. It's taken two years.

I’ve lost 3 stone so far on MJ and have another 2.5 stone to go but yes, I can totally see how this could cause pressure. I was talking to a colleague the other day who is very overweight and for a nanosecond, caught myself thinking ‘I wonder why she doesn’t try mounjaro’. I gave myself a mental poke later - GLP1s are not for everyone plus plenty of people are happy the way they are and that’s absolutely their right. However if I could have that fleeting thought then I can see how someone who’s a lot more judgy could use the drugs as a stick to beat people with - e.g ‘there’s no excuse now to be overweight’.

Ultimately, having been (until recently), nearly 6 stone overweight, I was utterly miserable and the meds have given me hope. Even when I do come off them, it’s lovely to know that if the weight starts to creep back up, I have the option of returning to them if I absolutely needed to. Game changing stuff!

But yes, the pressure you’re thinking about is real.

I think forums like this one and your own experience has skewed your view. About 2 and a half million people in the uk on them, a tiny percentage of those who are eligible for them, about 50 million globally.

size 14 won’t become obsolete, that’s a daft thought but we will see obesity rates drop, and as more drugs come to market, yes it will go back to what the population was like in the 70s, with a predominantly healthy weight population and overweight people being the exception rather than the rule.

this is fantastic news, as obesity is the biggest killer we have, the number 1 cause of cancer for one thing, and then all the other health issues it causes, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, fatty liver, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, joint degradation and so many more. It will take the pressure off health care systems globally and change the fact of it with more funds freed up to provide better service for other ailments.

I find it a little shallow to worry about clothes sizes, when this is about health.

I’m hoping my gp will refer me for weight loss injections in the new year.

I have multiple disabilities and comorbidities and I struggle to lose weight due to said disabilities and their impacts.

im a size 16 and have no trouble buying clothes.

I know plenty of people on this drug and I’d say at least half of them are now smaller than a 12 (which is what I am)
It does make me feel uncomfortable (my issue I know) that before long I’ll be bigger than average (in my social circle)

Is this entire post a thinly disguised ad for GLP-1?

Good point. I didn't know what it was until I clicked the thread and saw the OP was talking about weightloss injections (at least that's what I think she's talking about!). I've only heard of the M and O name injections.

Edited to add: I've looked it up and GLP-1 is the generic name for this type of medication, it's not a brand name.

I never even thought about the issues the hospitality industry might have!

definitely not an ad!!! I just didn’t want to offend anyone who might be taking it.

I already thought it was available on the NHS for obese people or people with weight related health issues. I’ve no idea how easily obtainable it is through the NHS though.

This!!

I am v open about being on Mounjaro and I agree that if I talk to someone about it they will know someone else on it
Ans my circle is v v normal!!

Apologies I thought GLP was what the drug was referred to over all! I thought the brands were what would be advertised. I’m not trying to offend anyone!

I think thsy will adjust there offering to also have some high protein and veg packed meals with fewer calories. And more low cal no alcoholic drinks. I think this will be good for everyone.

I haven’t voted because I can see it both ways @PiriPiriMenopause

I was a size 14, possibly 16 on the bottom (and occasionally 12 on top).

I’m 5’6 and weighed just under 13 stone. I’m 43 and knew the weight wasn’t going to shift.

I was just under th weight to be able to get it so I added a few pounds and bought it.

I’ve lost 20lbs and it’s been transformative for me. i have just used the second lowest dose of Wegovy and I hope to wean off it soon.

Strangely, I’m still a size 14 on the bottom. But I guess I’m a comfortable 14 as opposed to veering into a 16. My bum is noticeably smaller, my stomach has a bit less fat but it still soft. Hips probably are not going to change, which is fine. I’m eating better and going to the gym.

The fat was obviously all around my organs and I feel so much better without it.

I do feel a small amount of shame that I wasn’t able to do this without the drug but it’s improved my health for my families sake so I just have to deal with the shame. Hoping to stop taking it soon and manage myself.

I do feel lucky that I was able to afford it (the cost is somewhat offset by the fact that I am eating less and not craving salty, fatty takeaways etc).

I do think you raise a good point about the future and about the fat people now becoming the thin people, leaving the slightly overweight people who can’t afford the drug to be the new “fat people”. It did cross my mind because I thought that was going to be me before I went on it.

But it’s bigger than that. Obesity really is a massive problem. People weren’t like this in the 70s. Convenience foods and UPFs are such a problem, and the fact that it’s cheaper to eat crap than to eat healthily. All the sugary crap marketed at kids. Sometbing needs to happen to change the outlook for kids heading towards obesity, and GLP1s are not the answer to that.

I don’t think a 14 is large either and I bet OP looks great. The jabs can help get you to a size 10 though, I’m only telling you my experience of course. I was a size 22 and am now a size 10, my sibling was an 18 and is now a size 10. We have both maintained for about a year without the Mounjaro. It’s actually not that difficult (said nervously) once you’re down to the goal weight.

I’m not saying that to disagree or argue with you, I just thought you might like to know that some of the jabs do help you get to a size 10 or whatever size you want to be really.

I have to go and have an appointment with the nurse having recorded my BP 2x a day for a month.

then I will be referred to the weight loss clinic. If my BP is high enough.

then I need to attend a 10 or 12 week weight loss programme in person once a week.

and then I can be referred by the weight loss clinic to the practitioner for the injections.

It’s really not available on the nhs for weight loss, 200k people. Over 40 bmi and 4 co morbidities to be eligible.

i find it bemusing your focus is all about appearance rather than the health and benefit to the population, but then I guess for you that’s what it’s about, will I be the onky overweight one left.

A size 14 won’t become obsolete because most lifelong size 14s can’t access the jabs. Neither can young women who are not overweight or those without the funds. You’re just upset because larger women than you are slimming down and it’s making you feel like the fat one now rather than them.

It’s ok to say that with the larger portion of society now getting help and slimming you’re feeling self conscious of your own weight. But don’t disguise it as concern over shops having enough clothes.

are you over 40 BMI with four weight related co morbidities, if so you could be prescribed, it depends, the goverment has a hard cap on the numbers. Otherwise the weight loss clinic will look to bariatric surgery as their only option.