Sky News discussion about weight loss pills this morning

[ffsarewedoingthis]

They’re going through the daily papers and as per usual, three thin women are saying the same things, “there’s no long term data” (incorrect, these drugs have been in use for decades), “people who don’t need them use them” (very rare, and we don’t ban things like alcohol because kids sometimes get hold of it), “there’s a pressure to take them” (no, there’s not, if anything it’s the opposite).

AIBU to be utterly fed up of this discourse? I’m on WLI and have been for the last two years. I’ve lost ten and a half stone. It has quite literally saved my life.

Why, when they’re having these discussions, do they never discuss the fact that being obese is much much worse than any potential side effects of these drugs? Why don’t they discuss that almost every study coming out has been overwhelmingly positive, with noted positive cardiac benefits? The benefits in terms of addiction etc., are known as well.

The news trying to put people off these drugs is scary, especially when it’s three women who have obviously never experienced what it’s like to be morbidly obese and feeling like you’re suffocating in your own body.

Absolutely, I’ve lost weight in a healthy safe manner, I had the full suite of blood tests done at the end of last year, and from having signficant issues all are smack bang in the middle of the healthy range, I feel great and look very healthy too, as you’d expect.

its crazy to suggest nhs resources were required to monitor me. That resource and money should be spent on someone who needed it.

sure some might, I guess we are back to the anorexics, but it’s a tiny proportion, you just need to anecdotally see nearly everyone aims for a healthy bmi,

it is odd, these posters who are surrounded by so many anorexics, but I guess that’s what drives them,

Yep, same here! Had a panel of bloods in January for something unrelated to my weight loss and everything was perfect. Why should I take up an appointment every month?

I know lots of people who have disordered eating, as a minimum.

It would be great if everyone was able to make healthy choices, and manage their weight loss using that mindset - as you evidently have. Some people can’t.

Obesity (or the path to it) in some cases is an eating disorder. There’s an existing well known link between mental health and obesity.

To be transparent, that wasn’t my “reason.” I ate for convenience, and made terrible food choices, a health scare was enough of a reason to do something, and I’m genuinely fortunate that my reason was never food noise - it was shitty decision making.

But I don’t think “the anorexics” are as small as a demographic as you’d think. They’re not all anorexic, but many do have existing MH concerns, food relationship issues, over-eating disorders - etc etc.

Often not diagnosed, so not in the percentages we’ve been discussing.

It doesn’t have to be your problem, but that problem definitely exists.

I completely agree with this. It's treating the symptoms, not the cause. It's not normal for large numbers of a population to need drugs to maintain a healthy weight.

In fact, it's very normal for societies to develop an obesity problem once they get rich enough to feed everyone as much as they want and most people aren't doing hard manual work or using lots of calories to keep warm in winter because their houses are badly heated. It's the norm.

There's actually no evidence at all that humans are capable of living in such societies and not developing societal obesity problems without taking appetite suppressant drugs- don't forget how common smoking used to be too. There's not one society that's managed to do that. Even Japan has rising obesity rates now as well as more smoking than us.

Sure no one is disputing anorexics don’t exist, they have always existed, they always will,

obesity is disordered eating, saying it was shitty choices doesn’t change it, it’s excessive eating to such an extent get you got to morbid obesity, same as me but to a lesser level,

as you’ve no experience of fne meds and no food noise I guess it’s hard for you to fathom,or even understand, but the drugs prove for most of us this isn’t laziness and greed, as if it was the drugs wouldn’t work.

You can push through unless on too high a dose or have an extreme reaction. For the vast majority we could easily push through and continue to eat too much, even if it was just via grazing.

the fact nearly everyine doesn’t do that shows the issue was due to metabolic issues, and that once those are managed, people are able to make healthy choices. You can see it on any of the monthly threads on here, on Reddit. Thousands and thousands of people.

so I guess you’re more of an outlier, you’ve no experience of the medication, so don’t understand it clearly, you’ve no food noise, you can lose weight easily, don’t struggle to do so, and are rather oddly focused on people with eating disorders whilst totally ignoring the overwhelming majority of people who have had fabulous health outcomes on the drugs and don’t need monitoring to keep to a healthy diet. You also seem to oddly want money spent needlessly on monitoring those people via gps. When admitting the percentage who need help is tiny, and don’t seem to grasp most doctors are already past capacity. Many struggle to get an appt when they do need it, we don’t have an infinite pot of money and spending that money would be better on cancer treatment, or elderly care, or mental health would be better than spanking billions on seeing fat people as they lose weight,

As per usual it’s only the disordered eating that leaves you thin that’s acknowledged as an issue. The disordered eating that leaves you obese is just tested as a moral deficiency

I'm 62 struggling a bit with my weight need to lose 1 maybe 2 stone and aim coming under a lot of pressure to take them. I think it's great if you need to lose 10 stone and the jabs are the only way fine. But I know a lot of people paying and taking them to lose 1 or 2 stone. I've also got a friend and a sister in law who've had to have emergency gall bladder surgery since taking the jabs which might if course be a coincidence. in ten years time these jabs will be the next big scandal. I have spent my life in the weight loss and fitness industry and the small group of people who need these jabs us far outweighed by the multitude taking them instead of making a bit of effort or maybe just accepting we get bigger naturally as we age. I was 8 to 9 stone in twenties 9 and a half/10 in thirties in my forties 1 sat comfortably atjyst under 11 now I'm 12 1/2 13 stone and post menopausal. Jabs would put me back to 11 but I do not NEED them even if did want them. Society will be pressuring us to be stuck thin with no wrinkles. Madonna is not a goal she's a gruesome reminder that we should be able to say fuck it.

Two stone is a lot. A significant minority of women could go from obese to normal BMI with a two stone loss. I hate to be all clichéd lost sight of healthy weight but, well, many of us have lost sight of a healthy weight. Obesity is dangerous well before a person has 10 stone to lose!

If you've spent your whole life in the weight loss industry, did you know traditional diet and exercise doesn't actually work for most people? There's been a lot of money made by repeat customers in that sector over the years!

Huh? If you spent your life in the diet and fitness industry surely you must have some awareness that two thirds of the population are over weight or obese. And it costs the nhs 12 billion a year in health related issues. So the numbers who need them far exceeed those who don’t. You would also know diet and fitness isn’t working in the traditional methods, otherwise we wouldn’t have an escalating epidemic?

you’d also know 2 stone can be the difference between obese and a healthy weight for most women and that unless you’re close to 6 foot you yourself are obese?

Shorter than 5ft5ish and you’d be obese.

Any taller you’d be overweight.

She also does say she doesn’t want them, and sounds relatively comfortable with her weight gain, so not sure how helpful telling her she’s obese is, if she’s happy and comfortable at 13st.

It's the suggestion that we maybe just accept we get bigger as we age. The poster took it beyond her own personal circumstances. I 100000000% support the right to be ok with one's own body changing and not wanting to take any action to change that. That doesn't make it good advice for other people who do want to tackle their obesity in the most effective way, because the fact is that there are health risks to the extra weight.

I think there is obviously an element of our bodies changing?

At my lowest adult weight I was around 11st, almost 17st by March this year. I’ve got a lot to lose.

But I have no intention of being 11st again, despite that meaning I will always remain at least overweight, because I’m not 21. My body has changed, and my perception of what I’d like it to be has changed.

We’re all allowed to decide our own “happy weight,” and that isn’t necessarily a reflection on what someone else’s should be.

Her overall point was actually about people with a stone to lose (rather than 10) using them.

I personally couldn’t give a shiny shit how someone chooses to lose a stone, or 10st, aside from preferring it’s done healthily, but I’m not sure I’d bother for a single stone personally.

The point being made if you can stop being so defensive, is she was saying peoppe who have a stone or two to lose should not use them and that far more people use them than need them. The point being made back is 2 stone can be the difference between s healthy weight and obesity, for many women.and that depending on height she herself would be obese. No one told her to lose more, no one knows her or cares, just pretending it’s a negligible amount is ridiculous

it’s fine to lose them for a small amount. And on you, no one asked which weight yoh wish to be, you can stay as is. Lose 8 stone, lose 6, it’s your choice.

The problem with this is that the 1-2 stone loss mentioned is still the difference between an obese and normal BMI for a lot of women. I notice you only mention the 1 stone here, but the pp gave a range. And there are health risks to obesity.

I have no problem whatsoever with anyone choosing to accept that for themselves. If they suggest others ought to rather than choosing to lose it in the most effective way, whilst showing no understanding of the potential health issues, that's something quite different.

I’m not being defensive, I’m having a conversation, which I am actually totally calm about.

I think we can all accept that there’s a difference between losing 10st and 2st. In the time it takes, the length of commitment, but not necessarily in the mindset you’d need to be in to get it off and keep it off.

It’s not defensive to wonder if a person could battle 1-2 stone off. The only question is whether it should have to be a battle, which I’m not sure that it should.

The cost vs impact just looks different at lower weights. Because most would rather be 13st starting off than 23 stone. That’s just numbers and maths!

I think you obviously have a lot of hang ups about your weight.

At my heaviest I was 26 stone. 26 stone is not an easy weight to live at. Having lost ten and a half I still fit into the obese category and the last 2-3 stone are coming off a lot slower. But I’m comfortable with that.

I think I probably have the same hang ups that most severely overweight people have.

So that’s not really the “win” you were maybe looking for?

We wouldn’t be here discussing obesity and weight loss if everyone just plodded through their flabby lives without being bothered.

If it was that simple why didn’t you,why did you continue to gain. I don’t think it’s 0k to wonder why others can’t do what you yourself couldn’t achieve. No one goes on the meds as a first choice, for all of us it’s the last resort.

If a poster wants to share their wonderings, they might be best advised to do some basic research first. That way, you'll go into it knowing that 2 stone can be what makes a person obese, and you'll also not find any evidence 'battling' that off actually works.

I can well imagine working in the diet industry could've ingrained some very dodgy perspectives though, and sympathise.

There’s no need to get personal.

I explained, fairly reasonably and calmly, why using WLI to lose a lower amount “looks” different from the outside than losing more does.

It isn’t a last resort for some people, it’s a convenient choice - to save the battle.

That’s not a value judgement, I don’t buy into the idea that it has to be difficult, but there are those who use it as a first resort rather than a last.

But it’s a valid question, it is you who keeps posting about your weight, then trying to gate keep others getting them, from the checks they go through to why they wish them and can’t do without.

everyone is able to make their own decisions and will have their own risk assessments, it isn’t your place to gatekeep meds you don’t wish or say you need.

I, for one, am pleased that for many WLIs have enabled them to lose the weight. It can be a misery and a struggle being overweight and it affects physical and mental health.
I’m grateful that having less morbidly obese people with related medical conditions relieves the strain on the NHS.

I’m not trying to gatekeep anything.

I said only a few posts ago, I couldn’t give a shit how anyone chooses to lose weight, as long as it’s safe.

I think that’s completely reasonable. And where in some cases it isn’t safe, I think it’s right that steps are taken to make it safer.

We don’t get rid of seatbelts because some people don’t wear them and survive.

If your question was “why didn’t I just lose weight,” I didn’t want to. And now I do. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

I’ve also never said it’s easy, it’s quite obviously not. But if those efforts were to lose 2st, versus 10st for example, it’s just logical to assume you’d be more optimistic and less inclined to need help. If you’re climbing a hill rather than a mountain, maybe you wouldn’t need a walking stick.

Again, just logic, not judgement/banning anything/demanding anything.

Nonsense. You’re on line saying doctors should monitor everyone, questioning why people with a couple of stone to lose use them etc, it’s gatekeeping pure and simple.