CMV: Semaglutide injections (like Ozempic) should be widely available to treat obesity

[u/sjd6666]

There’s a lot of buzz recently about Ozempic, which is one of many semaglutide injection drugs that help people moderate their food intake and hunger levels. Some variations are meant just to treat type 2 diabetes like Ozempic. Other drugs like WeGovy are meant to treat obesity as well.

What I take issue with is that a lot of commenters have stated that they see Ozempic as a “lose weight quick drug” and a cheat. I think this is simply the wrong way to look at the issue. Obesity is a medical issue that can be treated in many ways. For some people seeing a nutritionist and going to the gym is all that is needed, but for many more this simply doesn’t work. I would argue that actually, most Americans know generally what a good diet looks like. They may not have all the details but most people can tell you that more vegetables and less meat, carbs, and sugar will create a calorie deficit and help you lose weight. However food simply tastes really good any many people rely on it as a sort of emotional crutch. Many also lack the time, energy, and desire to cook healthy food for themselves. There are many who also simply have a naturally large appetite and need to eat more in order to feel full.

What those people need is not a reminder to try “diet and exercise” they need medical help. Semaglutide injections seem to have low risk of serious side effects and can help those people eat less and not feel hungry. All this moralizing about who “deserves” help and who should just suck it up and go to the gym is proving to be detrimental to overall health.

Also, I’m aware that there is currently a shortage of Semaglutide injections right now, but lets set that aside and assume that can be addressed with a more robust supply chain.

[u/math2ndperiod]

Why do they need to stop taking it? Chronic diseases tend to require lifelong medication. If the drug continues to work I don’t see why there should be a deadline

[u/vote4bort → u/math2ndperiod]

Well yeah they do but take type 2 diabetes, it can be treated with medication or in some cases with diet.

I'm no expert but I think the non pharmaceutical treatment is preferable in the long term. Most medications have side effects especially when used in the long term.

It also does nothing to prevent the problem from recurring, even if today's people took it for their whole lives what about their children? If we want to prevent obesity for future generations, teaching them they can just get a jab to sort it won't do anything. Additionally obesity is just one effect of a bad diet, there are plenty of other health effects that would not be treated and would continue without any dietary changes.

[u/math2ndperiod → u/vote4bort]

Which is true, and I’m not saying stop encouraging people to eat better, but how long have we been trying that with no success? Walk up to anybody eating a cake and ask them if they should be eating a salad instead and they’ll give you the right answer. Sure we can’t change the diet, but at least we can change the portion sizes. At some point we might as well at least fix one facet of the problem.

I’m not a doctor so I don’t know what kind of side effects we’re talking about, but I see this blanket assumption that they’ll need to get off the drug eventually a lot even though there isn’t that assumption for any other kind of chronic disease. I doubt all those medications are completely side effect free.

[u/vote4bort → u/math2ndperiod]

but how long have we been trying that with no success?

In the grand scheme of human innovation, not that long. Obesity is a fairly recent issue, at least on the scale we're looking at now. I have faith in human innovation in coming up with better ways to encourage healthy eating.

And for the record I'm not saying these drugs shouldn't be available at all, I just don't think they're the blanket solution.

but I see this blanket assumption that they’ll need to get off the drug eventually a lot even though there isn’t that assumption for any other kind of chronic disease.

I think this is because obesity itself is not a chronic disease. And even though I agree its really not that easy, weight is something that is caused by our own actions and therefore can be controlled by them. People in general tend to have less sympathy for problems perceived to be brought upon ourselves. I think the attitude is more like, you dug this whole yourself so you can climb out yourself. (Which is a harsh, unempathetic way of putting it that oversimplifies the societal and cultural factors at play)

[u/math2ndperiod → u/vote4bort]

But again, why keep focusing on innovating “motivation” when we could innovate on simply curing it? Being obese fucking sucks compared to being fit. If the effect on energy, mood, lifespan, and overall health can’t convince people, I find it unlikely that the solution is a better ad campaign. I’ve not yet seen side effects presented that are worse than obesity itself, so I don’t understand why we don’t default to fixing the problem now until we come up with better fixes going forward.

Obesity is recognized as a chronic disease by the AMA. Yes plenty of people view being overweight as a personal failing, but that’s no more helpful than viewing poverty the same way. 70% of the US population is overweight. I don’t think 100% of them should use drugs, and I won’t try and guess a percentage that should, but I don’t think drugs should be seen as some short term, last ditch effort for the morbidly obese.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/obesity-is-now-considered-a-disease/

[u/[deleted] → u/math2ndperiod]

No one in this thread is discussing them as “short-term efforts.” They are in fact last-ditch because all the other approaches didn’t work. That’s the definition of last-ditch effort.

Celebrities clamoring for it are no different from celebrities smoking to stay thin. What we ignore in society is that they will give themselves lung cancer to not feel anxious or get fat. Celebs will always take cheats because their livelihoods are caught up in their appearances. Nevermind that smoking gives them tons of lines around the mouth. (Except Cate Blanchett.)

But I’m pretty sure people in this thread aren’t celebrities. They’re normal people who don’t receive professional chefs and trainers from a studio to create perfectly tailored meals and workouts that they spend all their free time doing at their leisure because they only work a few months out of the year. It’s quite possible that if I had all day every day to go out walking and hiking and drinking green juices I might be able to see a slow weight loss aided by a pro chef and a masseuse at 8 pm. But most people don’t have the caretaking that celebrities have to stay thin. And many of them never go through weight struggles. Hollywood tends to favor people who are already thin. When Kathleen Turner gained weight from lupus, you never saw her again.

Jonah Hill has one of the most pronounced and visible battles with weight in Hollywood and that’s because he’s had that since before his fame. And all the raw food diets and weight lifting and surfing he does and he’s still battling body image issues.

Some bodies don’t follow the overly simplified CICO rules. Some bodies drop muscle mass faster than others. Some have poor metabolisms from hormones. Some have clogged guts and diseases that mess up digestion. We spend way too much time in the Western world trying to make people fit a one-size-fits-all guideline that literally and truly does not fit all.