It’s ironic that we’re simultaneously acknowledging the downsides of plastics and promoting GLP-1 meds

It’s the hubris of a materially advanced society — we can’t fathom how engineering our materials and our bodies could be bad for us

Though the negatives of GLPs will likely be discovered sooner (spoiler alert: muscle loss)

Muscle loss happens with all weight loss though.

Muscle loss seems to be higher with GLPs relative to non-pharma interventions, and I don’t know if we have enough research on how it affects other lean mass like bones and organs 

“Studies suggest muscle loss with these medications (as indicated by decreases in fat-free mass [FFM]) ranges from 25% to 39% of the total weight lost over 36–72 weeks. This substantial muscle loss can be largely attributed to the magnitude of weight loss, rather than by an independent effect of GLP-1 receptor agonists, although this hypothesis must be tested. By comparison, non-pharmacological caloric restriction studies with smaller magnitudes of weight loss result in 10–30% FFM losses.”

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Muscle loss seems to be higher with GLPs relative to non-pharma interventions, and I don’t know if we have enough research on how it affects other lean mass like bones and organs 

“Studies suggest muscle loss with these medications (as indicated by decreases in fat-free mass [FFM]) ranges from 25% to 39% of the total weight lost over 36–72 weeks. This substantial muscle loss can be largely attributed to the magnitude of weight loss, rather than by an independent effect of GLP-1 receptor agonists, although this hypothesis must be tested. By comparison, non-pharmacological caloric restriction studies with smaller magnitudes of weight loss result in 10–30% FFM losses.”

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(24)00272-9/abstract

Overblown nonsense made up by people that just want to see fat people suffer and “earn” their weight loss

Yes you’re right, let’s just ape into experimental hormone therapy 

Feels like you’re overfitting from your about face on SSRIs

No I just know how bad it is to be fat. And I think it’s easy for a thinner person to finger wag about muscle loss while ignoring the risk benefit analysis. 

The all cause mortality risk reduction from the weight loss is so great and the muscle loss sfx is mitigable. And you’re going to deny people that all cause mortality risk reduction make it make sense? It just reads to me like you want them to suffer and why

I don’t want anyone to suffer, your framing is really aggressive

I just don’t think we have the data to promote this drug in the way it’s been promoted (a miracle cure)

You also literally can’t stop taking it, ever (which means it has great economics)

So yes, I think we need to be default skeptical — don’t conflate that with wishing suffering for anyone

No one serious promotes it as a miracle cure nor claims you have to take it forever. Loser techbros say “put it in the water supply” and shitty influencers take it for vanity weight loss. All unserious 

You can go off these drugs and maintain weight loss, and many have done it. It seems to largely depend on if you were able to build healthy habits like exercise while you were on it https://epicresearch.org/articles/many-patients-maintain-weight-loss-a-year-after-stopping-semaglutide-and-liraglutide

This is a non surgical avenue for weight loss that works and has been in market for a decade +. I say you want suffering because that is to me is what it is — taking this away from people who know the risks and are basically down horrendous already from the obesity itself

The drug companies themselves ran television ads during the Oscars asking people not to take them for vanity weight loss https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/07/health/eli-lilly-oscars-ad/index.html

 "People whose health is affected by obesity are the reason we work on these medications" and "It matters who gets them"

in the end, how do we achieve “the wrong people” from getting these drugs? Through some sort of law or ban that will probably have second order effects that wind up hurting people that actually need the meds. We choked off opioids at the expense of cancer patients https://www.fightcancer.org/releases/new-data-some-measures-meant-address-opioid-abuse-are-having-adverse-impact-access

Ultimately getting cultural attitudes to change I believe is more driven by treating fat people less shitty, not shaming anyone for choosing a med. And I find it hard to believe this will EVER happen 

There is noticeable difference in how I am treated as a woman when I am a size 8 vs a size 6!!

I think you’re underestimating how the cultural sentiment around these drugs have shifted in the last year

They may have been around for a while, but have been targeted at diabetes and other use cases that are non-cosmetic

There is a major wave of people who are not clinically obese taking these drugs, seeing them as a shortcut for lifestyle changes. That is who I think ought to pump the brakes and consider the sfx

Framing this as wanting people to suffer is a bad faith interpretation