4 ms·

Even if there are zero effects other than the advertised weight reduction, one downside is obvious from the comments here - some people will stop exercising. W

Even if there are zero effects other than the advertised weight reduction, one downside is obvious from the comments here - some people will stop exercising. While exercise has many positive effects, which I'd argue are more important than the weight loss, the latter is the primary reason many people exercise and likely to stop when given the weight loss by other means.

subtlejellyfish 4mo ago
We should stop telling people that exercise is a primary driver of weight loss. That said, exercise has a direct impact on metabolic health which is pretty necessary to maintain a healthy weight.
chrisco255 4mo ago
Most people are achieving weight loss by dietary changes. It takes a massive amount of exercise to significantly alter your calorie balance. Definitely good for you either way but most people who exercise also want to be toned or muscular.
- pandaman 4mo ago
  Define "massive". People do successfully and reliably get in shape through exercise. Aerobic exercise that gets HR up for an hour or more will significantly alter your calorie balance. I agree that more people don't go through exercise rote though.
  - padjo 4mo ago
    An hour of fairly vigorous cardio every day will give you what, 3-400 kcals of extra calories to play around? Something you can easily overcome by eating a donut, which you will absolutely crave after that hour and feel you deserve. Exercise is absolutely useless for weight loss if it isn't coupled with a controlled diet.
    - pandaman 4mo ago
      >An hour of fairly vigorous cardio every day will give you what, 3-400 kcals of extra calories to play around? This depends on your VO2max/FTP. At very modest 150W FTP it would be ~550 kcal. > Something you can easily overcome by eating a donut Don't eat a donut then? It's not like donuts randomly fly into your mouth and you have no control. >Exercise is absolutely useless for weight loss if it isn't coupled with a controlled diet. That's obvious. It's not "absolutely" useless as it will take much more effort to gorge on food (e.g. I don't know anyone who would be able to eat a donut after an hour of a vigorous exercise, least crave one) and you also have less time to stuff your face and think of snacks. But it's entirely possible to still overeat while exercising.
phil21 4mo ago
> one downside is obvious from the comments here - some people will stop exercising. Is there any source on this? The precise opposite has happened in my experience. I was an early evangelist for these drugs, and have many dozens of people who I talk to regularly who have since taken them over the years. I cannot think of a single person who went from regular exercise to reducing or eliminating it after taking the drug. Exactly zero. I can think of well over a dozen folks who started regular exercise for the first time in their lives after losing 50 or more pounds. Certainly many who did not change their habits either way. But overall this matches with what the trainers in my gym report. They were initially worried GLP-1s would reduce their client base, but the exact opposite has happened for them. It's brought an entirely new demographic into play and business is booming. > which I'd argue are more important than the weight loss, You would be making an argument contrary to most established science on the topic. Exercise is important and quite beneficial to health. Obesity is far worse. Not many obese people working out regularly to start with though, so I don't think this point holds much water to begin with. We are not a nation full of obese gym rats.
- pandaman 4mo ago
  >> one downside is obvious from the comments here - some people will stop exercising. >Is there any source on this? Other than the people saying they hate exercise and are glad they can take a drug instead in the comments here? This https://sciencesources.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1130958 https://sciencesources.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1130958 for example. >You would be making an argument contrary to most established science on the topic. Exercise is important and quite beneficial to health. Obesity is far worse. Is there any source on this?

subtlejellyfish 4mo ago

We should stop telling people that exercise is a primary driver of weight loss. That said, exercise has a direct impact on metabolic health which is pretty necessary to maintain a healthy weight.

chrisco255 4mo ago

Most people are achieving weight loss by dietary changes. It takes a massive amount of exercise to significantly alter your calorie balance. Definitely good for you either way but most people who exercise also want to be toned or muscular.

pandaman 4mo ago
Define "massive". People do successfully and reliably get in shape through exercise. Aerobic exercise that gets HR up for an hour or more will significantly alter your calorie balance. I agree that more people don't go through exercise rote though.
- padjo 4mo ago
  An hour of fairly vigorous cardio every day will give you what, 3-400 kcals of extra calories to play around? Something you can easily overcome by eating a donut, which you will absolutely crave after that hour and feel you deserve. Exercise is absolutely useless for weight loss if it isn't coupled with a controlled diet.
  - pandaman 4mo ago
    >An hour of fairly vigorous cardio every day will give you what, 3-400 kcals of extra calories to play around? This depends on your VO2max/FTP. At very modest 150W FTP it would be ~550 kcal. > Something you can easily overcome by eating a donut Don't eat a donut then? It's not like donuts randomly fly into your mouth and you have no control. >Exercise is absolutely useless for weight loss if it isn't coupled with a controlled diet. That's obvious. It's not "absolutely" useless as it will take much more effort to gorge on food (e.g. I don't know anyone who would be able to eat a donut after an hour of a vigorous exercise, least crave one) and you also have less time to stuff your face and think of snacks. But it's entirely possible to still overeat while exercising.

phil21 4mo ago

> one downside is obvious from the comments here - some people will stop exercising. Is there any source on this? The precise opposite has happened in my experience. I was an early evangelist for these drugs, and have many dozens of people who I talk to regularly who have since taken them over the years. I cannot think of a single person who went from regular exercise to reducing or eliminating it after taking the drug. Exactly zero. I can think of well over a dozen folks who started regular exercise for the first time in their lives after losing 50 or more pounds. Certainly many who did not change their habits either way. But overall this matches with what the trainers in my gym report. They were initially worried GLP-1s would reduce their client base, but the exact opposite has happened for them. It's brought an entirely new demographic into play and business is booming. > which I'd argue are more important than the weight loss, You would be making an argument contrary to most established science on the topic. Exercise is important and quite beneficial to health. Obesity is far worse. Not many obese people working out regularly to start with though, so I don't think this point holds much water to begin with. We are not a nation full of obese gym rats.

pandaman 4mo ago
>> one downside is obvious from the comments here - some people will stop exercising. >Is there any source on this? Other than the people saying they hate exercise and are glad they can take a drug instead in the comments here? This https://sciencesources.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1130958 https://sciencesources.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1130958 for example. >You would be making an argument contrary to most established science on the topic. Exercise is important and quite beneficial to health. Obesity is far worse. Is there any source on this?