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!

Apparently these jabs reduce muscle and bone density which will lead to a different set of health problems down the line. That might be a positive trade off for people taking it under medical recommendation and supervision to reduce the comorbidities of obesity, but for fairly average people taking it cosmetically because they can afford it it’s possibly not so great.

Jabs don’t deal with the psychological reasons behind disordered eating. I also imagine that they are quite dangerous for people suffering eating disorders which is an aspect never touched on as far as I can see.

I know loads of women using it not at my workplace as mostly men but some of the women were just slightly overweight.

Same. I also know some thin people using it who are obtaining it from pet private doctors or some other undisclosed dark sources!

Omg you are absolutely right.

I get it, OP. I've gone from a 10/12 to a solid 12 in perimenopause, and while I know I am not "fat" (I'm 5ft 6 and wear a 29" waist in jeans although I don't weigh myself) I am very aware of people getting smaller around me. I know a lot of people who are on the jabs. I follow people on social media who have gone from eg a size 26 to a 16 and think they look amazing while I look like a fatty. That's 100% on me, I know.

It feels like the Kate Moss "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" era again!

Wegovy and Mounjaro will get much cheaper and affordable when their patents expire and generic manufacturers can apply to make them. Also as pp have said, there are newer drugs in the pipeline. So in 5-10 years time there will be a noticeably different distribution of weight across the western population.

I’ve gone from a BMI of 33 to 27 and am still slowly losing on MJ. My blood sugars have gone from pre-diabetic to normal, I’m feeling great. It’s restored my body’s natural hunger and full signals. If I have to take this for the rest of my life I will do, easier than having to take multiple medications for weight related conditions as I age.

@MightyFlow You might want to check out some of the long running WLI threads where you will find that plenty of posters are maintaining their loss over significant periods, myself included.

We have an obesity epidemic, not only in the UK but globally. Being fat isn't good for our health in any way shape or form @PiriPiriMenopause . For some people a size 14 will be fat and for others it won't. If you are only 5ft, then you may well be overweight if not obese in a size 14. Clearly if you are 6ft, you won't be. So dress size isn't really very helpful.

FWIW, I love vintage clothes. I am a very comfortable UK size 10 these days. If I liked tight clothes, I'd be a size 8. However, I can barely fit into a pre-1970s size 14 and anything pre-1990s I need a size 12. That shows how much fatter we have become.

It is up to every individual to decide what is right for them and what may or may not be of benefit. If someone is happy and healthy at a size 14, then that's great and huge satisfaction should be had from that being the case. What's not to love and why would you feel pressure?

Erm… what?

I know loads of people on GLP and they’ve been on it between 18m to 2 years

many of them are size 10 now, have come off the meds and are holding, some are size 8 and holding.

some of them are now longer off the meds than they were on them, and have continued to lose weight, building muscle and living their best lives

the key to all this is making the lifestyle changes, no UPF, no snacks and resetting the view of food, enjoying it and investing time into preparing it etc, not eating junk

It’s all well and good considering a subject, but best to stick to subjects you have direct experience of

This is how I feel. I've gone from an 8-10 to a 10-12 in menopause, am a good half a stone heavier than I want to be (and can't seem to shift it, the usual methods like running and cutting carbs just don't seem to work any more) and I feel like a fatty while everyone else around me is slimming down. Like you, it's at least part a body image and a 'me' thing. But I admit that if someone handed me the drugs, I'd use them to shed that half stone.

Yes, I would imagine the dark forces thing is the same as some of the women are not in very high incomes and wouldn't qualify for NHS help so ...

Jabs don’t deal with the psychological reasons behind disordered eating.

Worth pointing out that this is irrelevant for a lot of obese people. Quite possibly the majority, given that wanting to eat lots of high calorie food when available is actually a behavioural adaptation that has mostly been useful to humans.

I'd agree there are some people who could benefit from some kind of MH support as well as jabs, but let's make sure we put that in the proper context.

You are not being unreasonable!

Last week I saw someone on social media saying they were embarrassed that at past 50 and entering menopause, they had put on weight and were a Size 12!

They bemoaned being fat at a 12.

I'm a 16 I have several autoimmune illnesses and live with high inflammation. I have absolutely no problems with people who need it taking GLP-1 agonists. There is research they may help with autoimmune conditions and neuro related illnesses like mine.

But anyway, I felt totally crap. Everyone on this discussion I was on was describing normal weight 10, 12, 14 as fat or gaining weight.

I have noticed that the 1980s 'Big Skinny' is back. I see influencers who look unwell, lifeless, tired eyes, gaunt hollow cheeks, limp hair (not necessarily taking GLP-1s they're often paleo keto advocates, etc) but super slim, describing themselves as healthy and being seen as 'wellness influencers' but after a while you see it is not actually 'wellness' it is Big Skinny, masquerading as wellness. Their followers cannot tell the difference and even the influencer pushing their dieting faux nutrition are perhaps suffering borderline body dysphoria, so don't see how extreme they are becoming.

Yes I do think it may create a new benchmark in acceptable weight. A very low one. That may be the unfortunate unintended social side effect.

Unfortunately I'm can also see some more possibly them becoming mandated for certain health populations in the future😐

Agree with this 100%.

Noone knows the long term effects.

Was listening to a radio show recently on these drugs, and the experiences are somewhat crazy. Women vomiting for months before "settling into the routine" and then being okay with being semi nauseous all the time (wtf?).

A friend of mine said his girlfriend is getting hers from her hairdresser! He offered to get me some but I was scared they'd be, I dunno, some Frankenstein's monster concoction!

It's not that tricky a subject to get your head around if you have more than two brain cells!

Size 14 won't vanish because even if injections became free and everyone wanted to use them, people would need to be a couple of stone overweight for a while before they qualify, and that would make them size 14 or 16 (at the least) and still needing to get dressed.

I think your instincts should be replied upon here.

I was recommended to go on mounjaro by my endocrinologist, but I still held off for another year due to fear of side effects (I had Hyperemesis in pregnancy and was terrified of feeling naueous again).

I lost 45lb in 5 months without even needing to go as high as the 'start dose' of 2.5mg. I have had barely any side effects. I did a few weeks on 2.5mg and had constipation, which wasn't unbareble, but I had haemorrhoids post child birth (9lb baby) and it aggravated them, and I lacked energy as the suppression was too much and therefore the calorie deficit was too much for me, so I dropped the dose back down.

It has been a life altering experiences so far for me, so all I can say is don't be scared of the side effects, you don't necessarily need to take a full dose (I started on 1.25mg instead of 2.5mg, nobody is ever going to know unless you tell them!!), and you don't need to loose as fast as the instagram before and after reels have you believing, just slow and steady is fine.

And as for long term consequences, it has corrected my wider endocrine problems which were bought on by an early menopause. So i'll take those long term consequences!!

Fascinating @MargoLivebetter

vanity sizing has been a huge driver in acceptance of unhealthy eating and weights

funny how its female clothing that does this. A bloke can walk into any shop, pick up a 32” pairs of jeans and know they will fit

its about time sizing was a part of trading standards, and retailers need to be much better at managing this with their suppliers

You’re wrong there.

I was obese and have lost five and a half stone. I am now size 6/8 with a BMI of 20. I need to stay on the medication long term due to endocrinology issues and am maintaining my weight at this healthy level.

@WildLeader is there evidence that "vanity" sizing is a driver of the acceptance of obesity and overweight, instead of being a result of women getting larger on average?

it's great that it's good for people's health. but it's very blatant, at least to me as i consume things like fashion content online, that the pressure to be very thin is back big time. don't get me wrong, it never really totally went away, but now that anyone with enough money can buy extreme thinness, it's having a huge knock-on effect. if you think the return of rail-thin standards and things like low rise jeans isn't related to glp-1s...well, you're a bit naive, aren't you?

These jabs can also potentially affect vision.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c80ew38gkdxo

Well done you, you must feel great.

I was chatting to my Endocrinologist the other day about how interesting it is reading about all the off label successes for Mounjaro, it must be an exciting time to be an Endocrinologist right now.

My early menopause with severe symtpoms, that went unacknowledge and untreated for many years, pushed me into a pseudo cushing's state and then my thyroid decided to get in on the action too and i develop sick euthyroid syndrome. Mounjaro has been nothing short of a miracle for me, and i will be forever grateful to the scientist and doctors who have developed it and pushed forward it's new uses.

I am on Mounjaro and have been since July. I am self funding it and at the start had 7.5 stone to lose having already lost around a stone at slimming world. I am still going slimming world and intend to stay there for life because I never, ever ever want to be this weight again.

I honestly could not give a shiny shit about what I look like. but I care deeply about staying alive and mobile for longer. that is my sole motivation.

and yes, I am very lucky I can afford to do this and it does mean going without certain material things to pay for the jabs because I did not meet the ridiculously stringent criteria and dont know of any one in my circle (and I know a lot of fat people, old people and people with mobility issues) that does.

I have been and will remain on the 2.5 dose because I want to retrain myself not to snack, not to emotionally eat and to have smaller portions. I know EXACTLY why I am fat and have tried with therapy etc to address the root cause but nothing has worked as well as this drug. Its literally transformed me.

I have been on it since July and have lost 2 stone because I am aiming for 1 - 1.5lbs a week.

What boils my piss are people who try to shame me as if I am some how a bit stupid because I cant count calories and move more. My weight like most morbidly obese people is a mental issue and nothing to do with my understanding or intelligence. I can foresee a time where the NHS gives the drug to those on welfare who arent working and those in areas of deprivation.