Maintenance dose level question - how is it not harmful

[CobaltRewind]

So something I’ve wondered about.

when you are your target weight I am expecting to be slim; 40 plus years of life has shown me that I have no will power and snack mindlessly and the more I deny or try not to eat the harder it is. So I’m expecting to be on MJ for a long time.

My question is, if it’s not safe for people who aren’t overweight, how can it be safe when you’ve lost weight and want to maintain results?

Anyone know?

It's not that it's not safe, there are always risks for anyone taking any medication. Continuing to take a medication that you have tolerated well for many months is clearly less risky than someone starting the same medication at a healthy weight and with no history of obesity. The risk of the previously obese person regaining the weight is sufficient to balance the risk of continuing to take the medication, if that's their personal judgement in combination with their prescriber.

It is not that it is immediately harmful to anyone taking the drug at a normal weight; it is that, like all effective drugs it carries risks of both mild and potentially serious side effects. Obesity also has risks for health, so the decision to take mounjaro is, or should be, based on a risk-benefit consideration. Prescribing guidelines are based on the idea that, at a BMI of 30 or above for most, the benefits outweigh the risks.
When someone who has struggled with obesity long term, the decision to continue at a lower dose to prevent regain should equally be based on considering the risk of side effects versus the risk of becoming obese again. For someone of an always healthy weight, the risks of taking a drug that will not actually benefit them make it pointless.

Continuing to take a medication that you have tolerated well for many months is clearly less risky than someone starting the same medication at a healthy weight and with no history of obesity.

I think you explained better in the next sentence. It's about relative risks.

A slim person has no health risks related to obesity, their risk of taking WLJ is the same as an obese person.

An obese person has many health risks related to obesity, their risk of taking WLJ is the same as a slim person but their obesity-related health risks have gone down.

It is not unsafe as such for those on a normal weight.

If a person as been obese, it is seen as a continuation of treatment as obesity is a chronic condition and discontinuing could lead to weight regain as their bodies have adapted to maintaining a higher weight/set point, regaining weight and returning to obesity means the return of the health risks. It was trialed on obese people based on specific health needs.

For someone who starts at a normal weight or is overweight, there is generally no substantial medical need or risk that warrants the start of pharmacological intervention and the risks associated with it.

If after you have reached your goal weight you believe you can maintain without it it would be better to come off, but I suspect for most they will need some sort of MJ maintenance plan.