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Powerful new obesity drug poised to upend weight loss care

12 points by SirLJ 3y ago

hombre_fatal 3y ago
This looks like a wonder drug. On social media there seem to be two types of deniers: 1. People who make stuff up about it. Even Peter Attia said in an interview recently that you lose more lean mass than fat on the drug. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8089287/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8089287/ "Greater weight loss was associated with greater improvement in body composition (lean body mass:fat mass ratio)." 2. People who think it's an unfair shortcut to lose weight with a pill. That fatties should just have to exist until they can make the identity level genetic changes on their own to lose it. Both cases are sad to see especially if you've been someone who has- or watched a loved one- struggle to lose weight their whole life.
- phone8675309 3y ago
  #2 seems to be a perennial favorite for people that morally judge fat people, and it actually seems worse from other fat people. My partner got gastric sleeve surgery, and she got an inordinate amount of shit about how it was "cheating" to lose weight from some of her fatter friends as well as a bunch of her skinny friends. It's weird like that.
- sw104 3y ago
  > That fatties should just have to exist until they can make the identity level genetic changes on their own to lose it. Or just eat less and exercise more.. What happens when they come off of this drug? Does the weight just go back on again? Underlying lifestyle changes are the proper way to lose weight and keep it off. The sort of lifestyle changes that most non-fat people have been making all of their lives. That's why many people criticise shortcuts like this. It's a lazy solution to (mostly) laziness.
  - bradknowles 3y ago
    No, it's genetic. No amount of willpower will save you from your genes. Try permanently changing the color of your skin. Or changing your gender so that you can have children.
    - shrimp_emoji 3y ago
      "Sex", not "gender". Also, look up epigenetics. Are you typing all this through a time vortex from 1980?
      - bradknowles 3y ago
        Are you always this rude? Are you capable of posting anything without being rude?
    - sw104 3y ago
      Absolute bollocks. Saying weight gain or difficulty with losing weight is genetic is (for the vast majority of people) a coping mechanism for lack of willpower.
      - bradknowles 3y ago
        Prove it. Until then, it's clear that you have no useful experience on the subject.
        sw104 3y ago
        If you're arguing that weight gain or a sense of willpower are entirely genetic, I think the onus is on you to provide proof. Introducing the likening of weight loss, something that everybody is capable of, to changing skin colour and changing your gender/sex is absurd. Eating below your energy expenditure will cause you to lose weight. Every time somebody decides to eat a (or many) burger or a donut, they have the choice not to do that. Genetics aren't forcing anyone.
  - poulpy123 3y ago
- josephcsible 3y ago
  > People who think it's an unfair shortcut to lose weight with a pill. That fatties should just have to exist until they can make the identity level genetic changes on their own to lose it. That's quite the straw man. The actual position is "while there's a shortage of these drugs, people who merely want them as a substitute for self-control should have to wait in line behind everyone who actually needs them for what they're meant to treat".
  - punchclockhero 3y ago
    And then there's the plot twist. On-label use is for type 2 diabetes, which is considered a consequence of obesity. So it's actually about prevention vs treatment.
  - hombre_fatal 3y ago
    Your claim just launders the same character judgement through a drug shortage problem. Now they are lazy and keeping drugs from people who are lazier thus more advanced along the type-2 diabetes escalation. That's supposed to be a steelman of the position I listed?
1MachineElf 3y ago
>Tirzepatide, an Eli Lilly and Co. drug approved to treat type 2 diabetes under the brand name Mounjaro, helped people with the disease who were overweight or had obesity lose up to 16% of their body weight, or more than 34 pounds, over nearly 17 months, the company said on Thursday. Is 34 pounds over 17 months really that significant? I lost that much in 6 months on a ketogenic diet, even with a lot of cheating (alcohol, fried chicken).
- hombre_fatal 3y ago
  It is for someone who can't stick to diets. It's an impulse control drug.
- poulpy123 3y ago
  Yes it's significant because it's a medical study and not a personal anecdote
phone8675309 3y ago
Access is going to be the issue here. My doctor recently put me on tirzepatide. It needed a prior auth from my insurance despite me being under treatment for type 2 diabetes for the last five years. My pharmacy benefits plan requires all prescriptions be sent to a mail order pharmacy, so I asked him to send in there. The mail order pharmacy accepted the script and offered to fill it for $3,000 for a one month supply. I asked them why, and they said that prior auth was still pending. Two days later, prior auth was denied with no reason given when I called. Two days after that, prior auth was approved and the mail order pharmacy now wanted to charge me $25 for a three month supply. Access to this drug for most people will be a nightmare, even for those that could benefit from its on-label use for type 2 diabetes.
- punchclockhero 3y ago
  This is rough. Is it still under patent protection?
  - phone8675309 3y ago
    Yes. It's newly released and there is no generic.
- hombre_fatal 3y ago
  I definitely empathize. Something similar is going on with amphetamine in the US due to DEA drug controls. People who need the drug are having access problems, and it's leading to the same tired "But do people really need it or are they just lazy?" and "Who needs it more?" discussions. These obesity drugs are far more expensive though, sheesh.

12 points by SirLJ 3y ago

This looks like a wonder drug. On social media there seem to be two types of deniers: 1. People who make stuff up about it. Even Peter Attia said in an interview recently that you lose more lean mass than fat on the drug. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8089287/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8089287/ "Greater weight loss was associated with greater improvement in body composition (lean body mass:fat mass ratio)." 2. People who think it's an unfair shortcut to lose weight with a pill. That fatties should just have to exist until they can make the identity level genetic changes on their own to lose it. Both cases are sad to see especially if you've been someone who has- or watched a loved one- struggle to lose weight their whole life.

phone8675309 3y ago
#2 seems to be a perennial favorite for people that morally judge fat people, and it actually seems worse from other fat people. My partner got gastric sleeve surgery, and she got an inordinate amount of shit about how it was "cheating" to lose weight from some of her fatter friends as well as a bunch of her skinny friends. It's weird like that.
sw104 3y ago
> That fatties should just have to exist until they can make the identity level genetic changes on their own to lose it. Or just eat less and exercise more.. What happens when they come off of this drug? Does the weight just go back on again? Underlying lifestyle changes are the proper way to lose weight and keep it off. The sort of lifestyle changes that most non-fat people have been making all of their lives. That's why many people criticise shortcuts like this. It's a lazy solution to (mostly) laziness.
- bradknowles 3y ago
  No, it's genetic. No amount of willpower will save you from your genes. Try permanently changing the color of your skin. Or changing your gender so that you can have children.
  - shrimp_emoji 3y ago
    "Sex", not "gender". Also, look up epigenetics. Are you typing all this through a time vortex from 1980?
    - bradknowles 3y ago
      Are you always this rude? Are you capable of posting anything without being rude?
  - sw104 3y ago
    Absolute bollocks. Saying weight gain or difficulty with losing weight is genetic is (for the vast majority of people) a coping mechanism for lack of willpower.
    - bradknowles 3y ago
      Prove it. Until then, it's clear that you have no useful experience on the subject.
      - sw104 3y ago
        If you're arguing that weight gain or a sense of willpower are entirely genetic, I think the onus is on you to provide proof. Introducing the likening of weight loss, something that everybody is capable of, to changing skin colour and changing your gender/sex is absurd. Eating below your energy expenditure will cause you to lose weight. Every time somebody decides to eat a (or many) burger or a donut, they have the choice not to do that. Genetics aren't forcing anyone.
- poulpy123 3y ago
josephcsible 3y ago
> People who think it's an unfair shortcut to lose weight with a pill. That fatties should just have to exist until they can make the identity level genetic changes on their own to lose it. That's quite the straw man. The actual position is "while there's a shortage of these drugs, people who merely want them as a substitute for self-control should have to wait in line behind everyone who actually needs them for what they're meant to treat".
- punchclockhero 3y ago
  And then there's the plot twist. On-label use is for type 2 diabetes, which is considered a consequence of obesity. So it's actually about prevention vs treatment.
- hombre_fatal 3y ago
  Your claim just launders the same character judgement through a drug shortage problem. Now they are lazy and keeping drugs from people who are lazier thus more advanced along the type-2 diabetes escalation. That's supposed to be a steelman of the position I listed?

1MachineElf 3y ago

>Tirzepatide, an Eli Lilly and Co. drug approved to treat type 2 diabetes under the brand name Mounjaro, helped people with the disease who were overweight or had obesity lose up to 16% of their body weight, or more than 34 pounds, over nearly 17 months, the company said on Thursday. Is 34 pounds over 17 months really that significant? I lost that much in 6 months on a ketogenic diet, even with a lot of cheating (alcohol, fried chicken).

hombre_fatal 3y ago
It is for someone who can't stick to diets. It's an impulse control drug.
poulpy123 3y ago
Yes it's significant because it's a medical study and not a personal anecdote

phone8675309 3y ago

Access is going to be the issue here. My doctor recently put me on tirzepatide. It needed a prior auth from my insurance despite me being under treatment for type 2 diabetes for the last five years. My pharmacy benefits plan requires all prescriptions be sent to a mail order pharmacy, so I asked him to send in there. The mail order pharmacy accepted the script and offered to fill it for $3,000 for a one month supply. I asked them why, and they said that prior auth was still pending. Two days later, prior auth was denied with no reason given when I called. Two days after that, prior auth was approved and the mail order pharmacy now wanted to charge me $25 for a three month supply. Access to this drug for most people will be a nightmare, even for those that could benefit from its on-label use for type 2 diabetes.

punchclockhero 3y ago
This is rough. Is it still under patent protection?
- phone8675309 3y ago
  Yes. It's newly released and there is no generic.
hombre_fatal 3y ago
I definitely empathize. Something similar is going on with amphetamine in the US due to DEA drug controls. People who need the drug are having access problems, and it's leading to the same tired "But do people really need it or are they just lazy?" and "Who needs it more?" discussions. These obesity drugs are far more expensive though, sheesh.