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Yes well your PCP / pharmacist should not have prescribed you an appetite suppressant when you have below average body fat %. The effects are very worth it for

Yes well your PCP / pharmacist should not have prescribed you an appetite suppressant when you have below average body fat %. The effects are very worth it for people weighing them against heart disease and mobility issues. It's not a Faustian bargain, it's all right on the tin. When you stop taking it the effects go away. If you want to be indulgent and it fits your lifestyle you can reversibly make that decision. The power to make that decision is difficult to overstate.

smallmancontrov 2y ago
Why is it only appropriate for people with heart disease / mobility issues but not for someone who is merely overweight? This feels like finger-wagging for the sake of finger-wagging.
- willis936 2y ago
  It isn't. 20% body fat is 6% below average. That isn't "merely overweight", it's likely underweight. No, I don't think underweight people should take appetite suppressants and I don't think that qualifies as a hot take. I think anyone who is medically overweight (which is a very modest BMI qualifier for anyone with any amount of muscle) should have the choice. Many US medical systems and insurers agree, which is a good place to be.
  - MostlyStable 2y ago
    >it's likely underweight. The only way this can possibly be correct is if you think that the "correct" weight is whatever the population average happens to be which is just...wild to me. If we assume commenter is male (a statistical likelihood), then 20% is the high end of normal, and could very safely be halved. In the less likely case that they are female, then it is right in the middle of the normal range, and could safely be reduced by 5-10% at least.
    - toast0 2y ago
      > The only way this can possibly be correct is if you think that the "correct" weight is whatever the population average happens to be which is just...wild to me. The medical definition of overweight is basically if you're some number of standard deviations above the average from whenever they ran the stats, so population average = correct weight seems like as reasonable a standard.
      - MostlyStable 2y ago
        I tried to find corroborating sources and couldn't, so take this for what it's worth, but Claude seems to think the cutoffs are based on epedmiological evidence for health impacts at various BMIs, which, even if that _wasn't_ how it was arrived at, seems like a better option.
  - DuckConference 2y ago
    What are you smoking? 20% is a perfectly healthy bodyfat number and (for a man) anything down to 15% or so is fine. Sub 10% is when you pretty much need a crazy bodybuilder lifestyle to maintain it. And on the other side, 25% is around the lien where you start facing some minor health risks from excess body fat.
  - loeg 2y ago
    Average is overweight, though.
  - pedalpete 2y ago
    You're confusing average with good. 15% body fat (for a man) is completely healthy, so as the OP said, he is slightly overweight.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
aeturnum 2y ago
> Yes well your PCP / pharmacist should not have prescribed you an appetite suppressant when you have below average body fat %. Why do you think this? I agree that people who have associated risk factors should be prioritized, but if there's enough for everyone why wouldn't we give it to anyone who wants it?
- willis936 2y ago
  Because anorexia exists it would do harm to completely unregulate access to appetite suppressants. Someone should be looking out for people who would willingly wither away.
  - aeturnum 2y ago
    I don't think anyone is suggesting it should be over the counter? Of course a doctor should monitor you while you are on it. We shouldn't give it to people who would use it to deepen a mental health diagnosis. Those concerns have nothing to do with the fact that it's ok for people to choose to start or stop medications if they would prefer (supplies allowing).
  - derkster 2y ago
    Putting Ozempic over the counter at a local pharmacy would be more than enough to keep people from wasting away, the same thing they do with asthma medication. In 2025, if you really want something, a dark web tutorial is 30 seconds away. And from what I've heard from a client, Ozempic on the dark web is roughly 5x cheaper.
    - IG_Semmelweiss 2y ago
      sure thing, but can you trust it ? There are so many horror stories abroad (like LATAM), that despite the 4x price point, people still buy US-manufactured GLPs instead of going to a foreign market to get the same prescription. This is being injected directly into your flesh, there cannot be any mistake, or shortcut.
      - 2y ago
cj 2y ago
After using them, I think GLP-1’s will eventually be rebranded as a weight management / weight maintenance drug rather than a weight loss drug in order to appeal to the masses. It’s a very interesting feeling to feel like you’re in full control of what you eat, not influenced by random cravings or hunger. In my case I’m planning to only stay on it another month or 2 to drop 10lbs. I can easily see people cycling on/off this drug throughout the year to keep weight in check while removing will power from the equation completely. It’s quite remarkable.
- layer8 2y ago
  A rebranding to a non-prescription drug will depend on how the prevalence × severity of side effects [0] turns out longer-term. I hope that you are right, but it seems too early to tell. [0] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667368124000299 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266736812... https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/glp-1-receptor-agonists-reminder-of-the-potential-side-effects-and-to-be-aware-of-the-potential-for-misuse#risk-of-adverse-drug-reactions-associated-with-glp-1ra-medicines https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/glp-1-receptor-agonist...
  - SoftTalker 2y ago
    "Gastrointestinal side effects" I assume that is code for excessive and frequent evacuation of watery feces.
    - layer8 2y ago
      “common gastrointestinal side-effects of GLP-1RAs treatment (including nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation) can persist for several days and may affect more than 1 in 10 patients”
      - op00to 2y ago
        For me, nausea only appears when I eat poorly - poor quality, or more than I should. Also increasing a dose can cause a bit of nausea for a few hours.
casey2 2y ago
I assume GP isn't a woman, why do you think 20% is normal for men. The point is that there are no side effects and there is no reason to stop taking it, especially if it saves him money. Are you just using average as weasel words here? I get my best pump and generally have the best workout sessions at ~10-12%, which is easily maintainable for me, but definitely not for most people, having a drug that makes it effortless for most people is a GOOD thing. People shouldn't have to suffer to get to <15% if they aren't born with good genetics? And what about strength athletes who want to build up a large runway? Now literally all of them can get down to ~7% no problem, and have no problems on the way up either.
fallingknife 2y ago
You shouldn't have to ask permission from a PCP / pharmacist in the first place. Who are you to decide whether side effects are worth it for anybody but yourself?
_zagj 2y ago
> when you have below average body fat % I can't speak to their choice of taking the drug, but it's wild how warped people's perceptions are now of what constitutes "healthy" and "fat" thanks to the obesity epidemic. People remark on how George Costanza on Seinfeld was once considered fat (because he was), or how Homer's scale-tipping 300 lbs. in the King-Size Homer episode of The Simpsons was considered comically obese (because it was). Never mind the fact that people almost always underestimate how fat they actually are and are almost always disappointed by their DEXA scans. Even if the OP's estimate is correct that they're just a little north of 20% BF (as a man), they're still overweight, and specifically overfat, and probably look soft and doughy.

smallmancontrov 2y ago

Why is it only appropriate for people with heart disease / mobility issues but not for someone who is merely overweight? This feels like finger-wagging for the sake of finger-wagging.

willis936 2y ago
It isn't. 20% body fat is 6% below average. That isn't "merely overweight", it's likely underweight. No, I don't think underweight people should take appetite suppressants and I don't think that qualifies as a hot take. I think anyone who is medically overweight (which is a very modest BMI qualifier for anyone with any amount of muscle) should have the choice. Many US medical systems and insurers agree, which is a good place to be.
- MostlyStable 2y ago
  >it's likely underweight. The only way this can possibly be correct is if you think that the "correct" weight is whatever the population average happens to be which is just...wild to me. If we assume commenter is male (a statistical likelihood), then 20% is the high end of normal, and could very safely be halved. In the less likely case that they are female, then it is right in the middle of the normal range, and could safely be reduced by 5-10% at least.
  - toast0 2y ago
    > The only way this can possibly be correct is if you think that the "correct" weight is whatever the population average happens to be which is just...wild to me. The medical definition of overweight is basically if you're some number of standard deviations above the average from whenever they ran the stats, so population average = correct weight seems like as reasonable a standard.
    - MostlyStable 2y ago
      I tried to find corroborating sources and couldn't, so take this for what it's worth, but Claude seems to think the cutoffs are based on epedmiological evidence for health impacts at various BMIs, which, even if that _wasn't_ how it was arrived at, seems like a better option.
- DuckConference 2y ago
  What are you smoking? 20% is a perfectly healthy bodyfat number and (for a man) anything down to 15% or so is fine. Sub 10% is when you pretty much need a crazy bodybuilder lifestyle to maintain it. And on the other side, 25% is around the lien where you start facing some minor health risks from excess body fat.
- loeg 2y ago
  Average is overweight, though.
- pedalpete 2y ago
  You're confusing average with good. 15% body fat (for a man) is completely healthy, so as the OP said, he is slightly overweight.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

aeturnum 2y ago

> Yes well your PCP / pharmacist should not have prescribed you an appetite suppressant when you have below average body fat %. Why do you think this? I agree that people who have associated risk factors should be prioritized, but if there's enough for everyone why wouldn't we give it to anyone who wants it?

willis936 2y ago
Because anorexia exists it would do harm to completely unregulate access to appetite suppressants. Someone should be looking out for people who would willingly wither away.
- aeturnum 2y ago
  I don't think anyone is suggesting it should be over the counter? Of course a doctor should monitor you while you are on it. We shouldn't give it to people who would use it to deepen a mental health diagnosis. Those concerns have nothing to do with the fact that it's ok for people to choose to start or stop medications if they would prefer (supplies allowing).
- derkster 2y ago
  Putting Ozempic over the counter at a local pharmacy would be more than enough to keep people from wasting away, the same thing they do with asthma medication. In 2025, if you really want something, a dark web tutorial is 30 seconds away. And from what I've heard from a client, Ozempic on the dark web is roughly 5x cheaper.
  - IG_Semmelweiss 2y ago
    sure thing, but can you trust it ? There are so many horror stories abroad (like LATAM), that despite the 4x price point, people still buy US-manufactured GLPs instead of going to a foreign market to get the same prescription. This is being injected directly into your flesh, there cannot be any mistake, or shortcut.
    - 2y ago

cj 2y ago

After using them, I think GLP-1’s will eventually be rebranded as a weight management / weight maintenance drug rather than a weight loss drug in order to appeal to the masses. It’s a very interesting feeling to feel like you’re in full control of what you eat, not influenced by random cravings or hunger. In my case I’m planning to only stay on it another month or 2 to drop 10lbs. I can easily see people cycling on/off this drug throughout the year to keep weight in check while removing will power from the equation completely. It’s quite remarkable.

layer8 2y ago
A rebranding to a non-prescription drug will depend on how the prevalence × severity of side effects [0] turns out longer-term. I hope that you are right, but it seems too early to tell. [0] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667368124000299 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266736812... https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/glp-1-receptor-agonists-reminder-of-the-potential-side-effects-and-to-be-aware-of-the-potential-for-misuse#risk-of-adverse-drug-reactions-associated-with-glp-1ra-medicines https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/glp-1-receptor-agonist...
- SoftTalker 2y ago
  "Gastrointestinal side effects" I assume that is code for excessive and frequent evacuation of watery feces.
  - layer8 2y ago
    “common gastrointestinal side-effects of GLP-1RAs treatment (including nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation) can persist for several days and may affect more than 1 in 10 patients”
    - op00to 2y ago
      For me, nausea only appears when I eat poorly - poor quality, or more than I should. Also increasing a dose can cause a bit of nausea for a few hours.

casey2 2y ago

I assume GP isn't a woman, why do you think 20% is normal for men. The point is that there are no side effects and there is no reason to stop taking it, especially if it saves him money. Are you just using average as weasel words here? I get my best pump and generally have the best workout sessions at ~10-12%, which is easily maintainable for me, but definitely not for most people, having a drug that makes it effortless for most people is a GOOD thing. People shouldn't have to suffer to get to <15% if they aren't born with good genetics? And what about strength athletes who want to build up a large runway? Now literally all of them can get down to ~7% no problem, and have no problems on the way up either.

fallingknife 2y ago

You shouldn't have to ask permission from a PCP / pharmacist in the first place. Who are you to decide whether side effects are worth it for anybody but yourself?

_zagj 2y ago

> when you have below average body fat % I can't speak to their choice of taking the drug, but it's wild how warped people's perceptions are now of what constitutes "healthy" and "fat" thanks to the obesity epidemic. People remark on how George Costanza on Seinfeld was once considered fat (because he was), or how Homer's scale-tipping 300 lbs. in the King-Size Homer episode of The Simpsons was considered comically obese (because it was). Never mind the fact that people almost always underestimate how fat they actually are and are almost always disappointed by their DEXA scans. Even if the OP's estimate is correct that they're just a little north of 20% BF (as a man), they're still overweight, and specifically overfat, and probably look soft and doughy.