Thread

1. krisroadruck · 1790993093 · focus · HN ↗

   Reporting on these drugs is so bad. Most of the benefits AND downsides they keep reporting are the same for any major rapid weight loss. Be it hair shedding or sleep apnea resolving. They keep acting like these are novel drug specific side effects rather than weight-loss related side effects.

   1. chis · 1790993547 · focus · HN ↗

      At this point it might legit be impossible for a side effect to be discovered that outweighs the immense health benefits of losing weight.

      It feels like people want there to be some horrible side effect to these drugs. Idk if it’s some moral objection to weight loss without discipline, or just general mistrust of big pharma.

      1. crooked-v · 1790994165 · focus · HN ↗

         It's absolutely the moral thing. Even on HN there are an endless number of people who treat the use of GLP-1s as a failure that must be publicly shamed.

         1. atmavatar · 1791000025 · focus · HN ↗

            I suspect a big part of that stems from the fact that many people treat being overweight as a moral failure in and of itself, and rather than repenting and doing the morally right and correct thing to lose the weight on your own, using a GLP-1 is "cheating".

            Of course, all that ignores that people's bodies are different, and some people will be slim no matter what they do, while others are doomed to be heavier regardless what they do on their own (barring extremes like developing eating disorders), but I'm not sure it would matter even should everyone understand that -- a large proportion of people need someone they perceive as lesser whom they can look down upon, and physical appearance is a quick and easy means to categorize others.

            1. throwaway398483 · 1791018984 · focus · HN ↗

               > others are doomed to be heavier regardless what they do on their own

               While this is true in individual cases, it is obviously not by any means common. Unless the human species has had some extreme mutations in the last 100 years (and only in the West). Yet this is brought up in every thread about obesity, because believing yourself to lack agency is more convenient.

               1. EPWN3D · 1791044290 · focus · HN ↗

                  I think you're mostly right, but there's nuance. Modern society has basically made the penalty for certain genetic traits way more severe because calories are so easy to access. In the past, if you had a genetic predisposition to over-eating, it wasn't going to really catch up with you due to overall scarcity.

                  But now? You pay a very heavy price because you can very cheaply get your entire daily supply of calories in a single meal.

                  And don't forget, a lot of these people are set up for failure by their parents. The number of overweight children I see is staggering. These kids are almost certain to spend their lives being overweight or obese because of what their parents feed them. A drug that helps someone overcome that is a very good thing.

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