Jabs and the impact on society

[Onand]

DP and a few friends are all MJ converts, the confidence and renewed self confidence is very real.

It’s got me wondering whether we’re going to see a cultural shift from the era of ‘body positivity’ as more people take up the injections and realise the real benefits of a healthier BMI long term. Will we see a return of the stigma attached to obesity that had started to diminish during the last decade with a broader acceptance of being overweight and an industry that supported it from plus size retailers and of course the food industry.

As more people start using the jabs the number of obese people in society will significantly drop leaving behind those who either can’t take the jabs for financial or medical reasons, won’t take them or simply wish to be as they are -as the ‘fat people’ whereas before so many ‘over eaters’ who are now on MJ would also be in the crowd with them.

Is the body confidence attitude going to switch particularly for women? Stocking plus sizes in the numbers we see now will slowly start to be loss making. Walking around my local shopping centre there are plenty of bigger girls wearing cropped tops, tight fitted clothing all with amazing make up- it’s ‘a look’ and you can see they’re not ashamed because they’re not an anomaly- yet.

I hope it will help many more people to become healthier and lose weight. 'Healthy at any size' is simply not true.

I hope it does not become a rich / poor divide and that with time they might become cheaper or more available via the NHS.

Genuinely asking - is there long term studies on these drugs? Do you have to stay on them forever? Any side effects? Are we going to see a huge amount of people with health issues caused by this?

I wonder the opposite. Being tanned used to be posh, now it's common. Literally, because of fake tans, cheap holidays and tanning beds.

Being fat used to be posh, because food was expensive, now thin is. As these injections are used by more and more people to be painfully thin at all costs, I wonder what the new 'posh' will be. I suspect it will be glowy, healthy curves without help. I suspect gaunt will stop being posh.

It will be fun to find out.

GLP-1 medications have been available for the best part twenty years for diabetes, so there are all sorts of studies.

https://www.jci.org/articles/view/175634#:~:text=(A)%20Data%20revealing%20GLP%2D,first%20GLP%2D1RA%20for%20obesity.

@xyz111

is there long term studies on these drugs? Yes.

Do you have to stay on them forever? No, but you could if you want to.

Any side effects? Yes, like all other prescription medication. Nearly all side effects are mild and manageable.

Are we going to see a huge amount of people with health issues caused by this? No,

Can anyone break down the results of the studies into these drugs? I’ve heard conflicting things.

In my area, I can't say I can see the uptake of these drugs has been great at the moment, I'm sure in London amongst thin rich people or even the middle-classes, it's high, but it's not visible yet where I live.

I don't think fat was ever destigmatised in the way you suggest.

@Alalalala you want people to give you a break down of all the studies on the various different GLP-1 medications?? Don't you have a slightly more specific question?

For example, what conflicting things have you heard, specifically?

I think it will be an even bigger stigma towards large people than there is now. Another rich poor divide thing. Something rich people won't have to worry about.

I wish I could afford the drugs...

Can I suggest you ask ChatGPT to do this sort of exercise for you? It's rather a large ask.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Big Food doing two things:

Lots of studies discrediting the jabs (see sugar and fat research)
Making food even more addictive to get around the drugs. Some kind of arms race with the 'winners' being the pharma and food sectors.

I’m using weight loss injections and have lost 4 stone so far. I’m still overweight at the moment but I do look and feel much different.

Even if I get thinner I really really hope it doesn’t result in more judgment and stigma for overweight people. Difficulty finding the right size clothes etc. That’s a horrible thing to hope for. If stigma helped people lose weight no one would be overweight

Stigma and shaming in fact has been clearly shown to promote weight gain.

At the moment it appears many slim people are trying to stigmatise those using the jabs, as they can’t get them, and want them, as well as fat people who can’t use them, for whatever reason, cost, worry, etc.

that attempt at stigmatisation has been somewhat successful in that most folks don’t tell people due to the judgement, but a total failure as it will not put anyone off getting them who is eligible and can afford it.

we can look to the USA, 16 million people on them there. That regions obesity has already reduced a few points overall. Most western countries they are now available, I was trying to work it out, but likely at least 50 million people across the world using them.

so we will see a reduction in obesity related illnesses, cancer, diabetes, stroke, heart attack , and also other medical interventions, like joint replacements, as the populations obesity declines.

add in they are about to be approved for cardiovascular and kidney disease, and in studies for arthritis, Alzheimer’s etc, with 8 more drugs in final testing stage and estimated pill form to come out in the next couple of years, then ultimately, the cost will decrease, access will be easier, and obesity will become much rarer, like it was mid 20th century.

we are just at the start of this journey and now they have cured obesity, it will come on leaps and bounds.

I'm in rural south. Very tight knit community. In my little lane of 9 houses - 7 of 20 adults are on MJ .. that I know of.. we have a WhatsApp group and share our experiences... so certainly not a metropolitan elite thing. The cost is negated by the savings on food/snacks /booze... in fact it saves me money.

@AwwmyfuckingGod you may be right, perhaps all my friends are on it and haven't told me! I mean there's not evidence of a considerable weight loss amongst the general population that I've noticed. The uptake in the US is incredible, I wonder if it will differ from country to country.

To be honest though, it will be years before you can see that walking down the street. You can’t really walk around saying I can see fat people so obvs not being used, I find the idea you’d think that odd.the drugs are really only now properly taking off in the uk, so it will be awhile yet.

@TrollTheAncientYuletideCarol I've been using Mounjaro for nearly 6 months now having lost 6 stone which you wouldn't know, and as I am still obese you'd walk past me and assume that I wasn't on a weight loss injection. I don't know how anyone could make a judgement based on who they see in their daily lives. It will need aggregated data from the NHS via health checks or similar before any impact is seen.

@ThatCoralShark the reason I mention this is because everyone keeps talking on Mumsnet as if there's an imminent change to the fabric of society with these jabs, all I'm saying is that there may be many reasons this doesn't take off hugely, ranging from price, side effects or just disinterest in being slimmer, not everyone is that motivated to change, just as not everyone is on top of their heart disease, stroke risk, and is taking statins or ACE inhibitors (talking of drugs that have long-term bad effects, ACE inhibitors are one).

I have taken weight loss drugs myself, I feel relatively isolated and my weight loss has been remarked on by many people, it's yet to have a huge impact on society. I think the potential is there, but my suspicion is that the food industry will be fighting back quite shortly and discrediting these drugs, and I suspect that there's not going to be as high an uptake as there initially might be thought to be, I think they will change things, like anti-depressants have changed things, but they haven't noticeably stopped depression and I wonder if these might be the same.

@SilenceInside I agree, I wouldn't expect completely visible results straight away, but it was quite visible in celebrity circles, I noticed it about a year ago that even the slim celebs were even slimmer and even gaunt, and I wondered why and it all made sense.

I'm not sure what the consequences are going to be yet, I think they will be used as part of a suite of lifestyle drugs, but as I say, there are other lifestyle drugs that aren't used as much as they could be, and they do have side effects for some, so perhaps there won't be quite the transformation we might expect- I don't know!

I don’t think there’ll be much change unless the NHS start to prescribe it. Then all the anti MJ arguments will be silenced significantly. If it becomes a ‘normal’ med to take if you are overweight or obese then things would change.

Dr Van Tulleken writes a lot about backlashes from food production companies wrt the move towards upf free food.

I wonder if they'll get more sneaky about trying to promote upf food, discredit drugs etc.

Reading about the way coke is marketed everywhere even in rural places with remote tribes made me think how big this all is.

Yes this, whenever I see people really angrily discrediting the medication I wonder if their pension is tied up in various supermarket shares or something

Its the food industry's interest to get us to over buy (and therefore overeat). I suppose technically they dont care if we over eat or not, but having over bought the food, we are likely to eat it when we dont really need to.
Offers will be more and more frequent on low satiating food so that you want more and more of it.

I just hope we dont see more 'fat free' or 'sugar free' things which are full of non foods like artificial sweetners as a result

As per NHS I’m considered I think obese. I don’t want this jabs and I hope myself is respected by society and not accused of being fat because I want to. I’ve got a psychologist specialised in food disorders and I’m doing exercise more than ever. Because of this I’m surrounded by women that we don’t want to be thin, we want to be stronger and feel healthier doing it. I’m seeing trend more of women that don’t want to be thin but strong and sporty.

if others want to lose weight using diets or medicines it’s fine for me. Their body their choice. But I do hope that society (& doctors) respect my decision. I’m really grateful for having found a psychologist that has proven me wrong in many of my misconceptions caused by society and also that she pushed me to believe on myself and try the gym and CrossFit.

there will always be clothes for bigger sizes , there is a market in there as not everyone will be on these medicines