5 ms·

These GLP-1 drugs are going to have as significant an impact on humanity as antibiotics, and vaccines. History will look back at their invention as one of the k

These GLP-1 drugs are going to have as significant an impact on humanity as antibiotics, and vaccines. History will look back at their invention as one of the key advances in medicine.

tgv 3y ago
And once people are addicted, and using it on a large scale, the side effects will turn out to be unpleasant.
rglullis 3y ago
With the difference that it wasn't humanity that invented pathogens or viral infections, while the obesity pandemic is arguably a product of industries (Food, Pharma) that profit more from keeping our unhealthy lifestyle than providing a holistic solution. Also, AFAIK these drugs always need to be taken continuously, if people stop taking them they return to whatever was their baseline levels. This can not seriously be seen as a good thing.
- orwin 3y ago
  >> Also, AFAIK these drugs always need to be taken continuously, if people stop taking them they return to whatever was their baseline levels. This can not be seriously be seen as a good thing. I don't think it's true. Obesity increase hunger, prevent you to walk and/or exercise for long stretch of time (chaffed thighs, you don't want to experience it), and disturb your sleep which in turn increase your hunger. It's easy to become obese when you're overweight and have bad eating habits, and it's very rare for people like me that were in very good shape at 18 to be clinically obese at 27 (it took a heart issue, then a badly broken ankle (4 years of rehab) to do it). If the drug fix your food issues for 2 years, you're set imho.
- nathanyz 3y ago
  We did create transmission of diseases across the planet by sending explorers between continents. The same way we enabled COVID spread through international travel. These are not bad things in and of themselves, but yes as humans advance we both improve and worsen things. The hope is for a net positive for the human race, but I'll leave that topic alone as it is its own can of worms. As far as taking them continuously, there are many chronic conditions that people take medication for life to resolve. For example high blood pressure, they put you on medication and its expected you will be on it for life, it isn't always solvable by any other means. Many other examples of chronic conditions which means ongoing medication must be taken. What I think will be interesting is the higher order impacts to the major food companies. If enough people are on medication to disrupt the desire to eat sweets and highly processed foods, the incentive for the food companies is to try to find a way to bypass the effects of the medication.
- OrwellianChild 3y ago
  3rd hand anecdote, but a friend who used Ozempic spoke to the psychological impact of seeing the cravings for food vanish that went beyond just the timeframe of the dose. A drug that effectively shuts off the compulsion helps demonstrate the disconnect between the desire and the need for food. She specifically called out that experiencing the absence of craving helped with willpower after the Ozempic dose was withdrawn.
  - rglullis 3y ago
    1st hand anecdote: fasting one day per week has noticeably reduced any late-night cravings or my endless appetite for chocolate. The experience of going through one whole day with only water/tea/coffee, feeling a hole in your stomach by early afternoon and seeing the hunger subside by bed time and lasting until the next afternoon also "demonstrate the disconnect between the desire and the need for food".

These GLP-1 drugs are going to have as significant an impact on humanity as antibiotics, and vaccines. History will look back at their invention as one of the key advances in medicine.

tgv 3y ago

And once people are addicted, and using it on a large scale, the side effects will turn out to be unpleasant.

rglullis 3y ago

With the difference that it wasn't humanity that invented pathogens or viral infections, while the obesity pandemic is arguably a product of industries (Food, Pharma) that profit more from keeping our unhealthy lifestyle than providing a holistic solution. Also, AFAIK these drugs always need to be taken continuously, if people stop taking them they return to whatever was their baseline levels. This can not seriously be seen as a good thing.

orwin 3y ago
>> Also, AFAIK these drugs always need to be taken continuously, if people stop taking them they return to whatever was their baseline levels. This can not be seriously be seen as a good thing. I don't think it's true. Obesity increase hunger, prevent you to walk and/or exercise for long stretch of time (chaffed thighs, you don't want to experience it), and disturb your sleep which in turn increase your hunger. It's easy to become obese when you're overweight and have bad eating habits, and it's very rare for people like me that were in very good shape at 18 to be clinically obese at 27 (it took a heart issue, then a badly broken ankle (4 years of rehab) to do it). If the drug fix your food issues for 2 years, you're set imho.
nathanyz 3y ago
We did create transmission of diseases across the planet by sending explorers between continents. The same way we enabled COVID spread through international travel. These are not bad things in and of themselves, but yes as humans advance we both improve and worsen things. The hope is for a net positive for the human race, but I'll leave that topic alone as it is its own can of worms. As far as taking them continuously, there are many chronic conditions that people take medication for life to resolve. For example high blood pressure, they put you on medication and its expected you will be on it for life, it isn't always solvable by any other means. Many other examples of chronic conditions which means ongoing medication must be taken. What I think will be interesting is the higher order impacts to the major food companies. If enough people are on medication to disrupt the desire to eat sweets and highly processed foods, the incentive for the food companies is to try to find a way to bypass the effects of the medication.
OrwellianChild 3y ago
3rd hand anecdote, but a friend who used Ozempic spoke to the psychological impact of seeing the cravings for food vanish that went beyond just the timeframe of the dose. A drug that effectively shuts off the compulsion helps demonstrate the disconnect between the desire and the need for food. She specifically called out that experiencing the absence of craving helped with willpower after the Ozempic dose was withdrawn.
- rglullis 3y ago
  1st hand anecdote: fasting one day per week has noticeably reduced any late-night cravings or my endless appetite for chocolate. The experience of going through one whole day with only water/tea/coffee, feeling a hole in your stomach by early afternoon and seeing the hunger subside by bed time and lasting until the next afternoon also "demonstrate the disconnect between the desire and the need for food".