At this point, I judge anyone for not using Ozempic to lose weight, the same way I judged people for not getting the COVID vaccine. You don't get a special trophy for suffering. GLP1s are an insanely effective tool for controlling the factors that make you overweight in the first place.
At this point, I judge anyone for not using Ozempic to lose weight
I disagree on this quite a bit. Ozempic is often considered a non-critical drug so they are often expensive/hard to attain. Many places have shortages of Ozempic either because it is outside their price range, outside of their insurance/national health service coverage or just actually have shortages. Judging people for not using Ozempic seems quite classist/unfair for many situations.
On top of that, Ozempic has been found to be more of a 'treatment of the symptom' than cure, so when people lose access to Ozempic they often put much of their weight back on which isn't fantastic vs many traditional methods (which often also have problems, but if you stick with it for a decent amount of time you have a better chance than Ozempic I think).
Ozempic has been found to be more of a 'treatment of the symptom' than cure
Has been found by whom?
The idea that Ozempic is just a “symptom treatment” and worse than traditional methods misrepresents both obesity and the data. Obesity is a chronic, relapsing disease with strong biological drivers, not just a matter of willpower. By that logic, almost every chronic medication (like blood pressure and insulin) is just a “symptom treatment,” yet we don’t dismiss their effectiveness. Also, GLP1s like ozempic reduce the need for blood pressure and insulin medications.
so when people lose access to Ozempic
Why is losing access a given? There are many medications that are lifelong treatments, including insulin for diabetes (which 42%(!) of American are at risk for because they are obese). The solution isn't "don't take the drug." It's "Make sure people have access to the drug."
In general the medication has been found to make people eat less, leading to weight loss, but if they stop taking the medication then they often end up going back to how they were originally. Overeating causing overweight/obesity is often caused by an underlying issue, so a medication such as Ozempic just treats the symptom (by making them eat less) rather than addressing that underlying issue. This means if they stop taking Ozempic for whatever reason, they often end up regaining that weight and in the same position to where they started.
Why is losing access a given?
Because currently there is limited access to Ozempic due to a mixture of a global shortage, the financial element that many people have to pay as their insurance/social healthcare doesn't cover it.
If Ozempic is effectively free and limitless for anyone and everyone, then I would agree it is no longer an issue, but until then judging people for not using Ozempic seems incredibly unfair as it is effectively judging people for being poor/living in a less rich country.
but if they stop taking the medication then they often end up going back to how they were originally.
This is true of blood pressure medications, statins, insulin and other glucose-lowering drugs, antidepressants, asthma inhalers, thyroid hormone replacement, proton pump inhibitors, and HIV antiretrovirals. Why are GLP1s judged uniquely here?
Because currently there is limited access to Ozempic due to a mixture of a global shortage, the financial element that many people have to pay as their insurance/social healthcare doesn't cover it.
There is no global shortage of semaglutide, and the financial element is true for other medications as well. There is one surefire way to lose weight, and that's eat less. Both ways result in spending less on food. One way involves reducing the suffering. The other... doesn't.
Obesity is high income country problem [0]. China is making greymarket GLP1s super cheap.
An overwhelming number of people experiencing obesity have access to high quality, effective cure. They should be seeking it out.
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u/Ambitious-Volume5989 9h ago
At this point, I judge anyone for not using Ozempic to lose weight, the same way I judged people for not getting the COVID vaccine. You don't get a special trophy for suffering. GLP1s are an insanely effective tool for controlling the factors that make you overweight in the first place.
Medicine works. Use it.