4 ms·

It’s not that there are no other interventions for obesity, it’s just that this is the cheapest and most effective. If taxing sodas had the effect of reducing

It’s not that there are no other interventions for obesity, it’s just that this is the cheapest and most effective. If taxing sodas had the effect of reducing body weight by 1/3, then I’d be all for it. But behavioral interventions are really hard to stick. The reason ozempic is taking off is that it works given the systemic issues we have. It’s the equivalent of saying people shouldn’t take anti-depressant meds because we can just change systemic factors they cause depression. We can do both, but it’s not like we’d discourage food deserts instead of ozempic. We need to do both. And cynically, I think ozempic will work to reduce obesity.

insane_dreamer 2y ago
> It’s the equivalent of saying people shouldn’t take anti-depressant meds because we can just change systemic factors they cause depression. Fair point, but the systemic factors that cause depression are much more diverse, harder to identify, and much more difficult to rectify. (Also, I would argue that we have become a highly over-medicated society.) Edit: Also, we did successfully change social behavior when it comes to smoking (younger people don't realize just how prevalent smoking was in 60s and 70s, perhaps as prevalent as drinking Coke and being overweight is today), though it did take massive class-action law suits. Maybe that's what it will take, though smoking -> lung cancer was perhaps a particularly easy link to prove.