3 ms·

It seems like we never learn. There are definitely a group of people who truly need this drug (diabetics), but the obesity epidemic is the result of poor diet

It seems like we never learn. There are definitely a group of people who truly need this drug (diabetics), but the obesity epidemic is the result of poor diet and a lack of exercise. So rather than solving for the problem at the source, we're suggesting a "quick fix" which has some known side-effects, and potentially many more unknown. Historically we look at the drugs that have promised weight loss in the past, and they have all been pulled from the market, or shown to have negative consequences. Taking the drug likely still doesn't solve the other side of the obesity epidemic, which is exercise. So are we going to pop a pill that exercises for us as well? What will life look like for future generations when they can eat like gluttons, laze around with robot servants bringing us our every wish, and AI that can think for us? That's not a future I want to live in. I already see parts of it with the UberEats/DoorDash, etc - where people think they are just too busy to go and do something themselves, then I find out they are watching 3 hours of television and tiktok per day. I'm tempted to downvote myself for this rant, but I do find this a very worrying state.

exfatloss 4y ago
Obesity is unsolved. If you know what dietary intervention will cause significant long-term fat reduction in a majority of people, please demonstrate and you'll win the Nobel peace price. We just don't know. Trust me, this is kind of my thing. That said I am also naturally skeptical of quick fixes. The known side effects of these drugs seem meh, but I worry about hidden ones. E.g. I've heard these described as "chemical starvation" - doesn't exactly sound healthy long term to starve your body? I strongly disagree exercise has anything to do with the obesity epidemic. Exercise is great but not related to obesity. edit: let's debate this guy and not just downvote, plz?
- pedalpete 4y ago
  I'm not saying exercise and diet is the cure for obesity. Good diet and exercise are the preventative of obesity. I didn't state that clearly in my initial comment. Please, debate (me) "this guy"!
  - exfatloss 4y ago
    :) Thanks for clarifying!
- PuppyTailWags 4y ago
  I'm also super skeptical of quick fixes. We've actually had a set of diet pills in the 80s and 90s that were touted as similar miracle workers just like these ones, until they started killing people... I'm all for trying to help obese people lose weight but what's the difference between these ones and the previous fen-phen craze?
renewedrebecca 4y ago
Obesity is one of those areas where if you don't suffer from it, solving it seems easy... "just" eat better. "just" exercise. Problem is, once the body's mechanisms get out of whack, it just doesn't work that way. When you try to lose weight via calorie restriction, especially if insulin resistance has set in, hunger is going to catch up to you. Study after study has shown this. Drugs like ozempic, metformin, even wellbutrin... They act on those mechanisms, and that's why they result in weight loss. If you think people are taking those medications and then binging, that's honestly not what's going on. Once those feedback mechanisms are under control, you're simply not controlled by hunger anymore. That naturally leads to weight loss.
- pedalpete 4y ago
  I should have been clearer in my comment. I wasn't saying exercise and diet can cure obesity. We need people to eat healthy and exercise prior to obesity taking hold. Prevention (and generally being healthy) must be the default to our health problems, not constantly looking for the cure for problems that we caused ourselves. The 2nd option ends up being whack-a-mole.
- exfatloss 4y ago
  100% agreed. Diet advice from naturally thin people is like dunking advice from Shaq. "Just walk up and put it in" won't cut it for those of us who have a screwed up metabolism.
meghan_rain 4y ago
> What will life look like for future generations when they can eat like gluttons, laze around with robot servants bringing us our every wish, and AI that can think for us? Sign me up :D

exfatloss 4y ago

Obesity is unsolved. If you know what dietary intervention will cause significant long-term fat reduction in a majority of people, please demonstrate and you'll win the Nobel peace price. We just don't know. Trust me, this is kind of my thing. That said I am also naturally skeptical of quick fixes. The known side effects of these drugs seem meh, but I worry about hidden ones. E.g. I've heard these described as "chemical starvation" - doesn't exactly sound healthy long term to starve your body? I strongly disagree exercise has anything to do with the obesity epidemic. Exercise is great but not related to obesity. edit: let's debate this guy and not just downvote, plz?

pedalpete 4y ago
I'm not saying exercise and diet is the cure for obesity. Good diet and exercise are the preventative of obesity. I didn't state that clearly in my initial comment. Please, debate (me) "this guy"!
- exfatloss 4y ago
  :) Thanks for clarifying!
PuppyTailWags 4y ago
I'm also super skeptical of quick fixes. We've actually had a set of diet pills in the 80s and 90s that were touted as similar miracle workers just like these ones, until they started killing people... I'm all for trying to help obese people lose weight but what's the difference between these ones and the previous fen-phen craze?

renewedrebecca 4y ago

Obesity is one of those areas where if you don't suffer from it, solving it seems easy... "just" eat better. "just" exercise. Problem is, once the body's mechanisms get out of whack, it just doesn't work that way. When you try to lose weight via calorie restriction, especially if insulin resistance has set in, hunger is going to catch up to you. Study after study has shown this. Drugs like ozempic, metformin, even wellbutrin... They act on those mechanisms, and that's why they result in weight loss. If you think people are taking those medications and then binging, that's honestly not what's going on. Once those feedback mechanisms are under control, you're simply not controlled by hunger anymore. That naturally leads to weight loss.

pedalpete 4y ago
I should have been clearer in my comment. I wasn't saying exercise and diet can cure obesity. We need people to eat healthy and exercise prior to obesity taking hold. Prevention (and generally being healthy) must be the default to our health problems, not constantly looking for the cure for problems that we caused ourselves. The 2nd option ends up being whack-a-mole.
exfatloss 4y ago
100% agreed. Diet advice from naturally thin people is like dunking advice from Shaq. "Just walk up and put it in" won't cut it for those of us who have a screwed up metabolism.

meghan_rain 4y ago

> What will life look like for future generations when they can eat like gluttons, laze around with robot servants bringing us our every wish, and AI that can think for us? Sign me up :D