Friend who works in pharma went on a rant about how bad Ozempic etc is for people. ?

[Anonymous]

Watch the documentary live to 100 documentary. It talks about the blue zones in the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to agree with a previous OP. if the main issue in US is Glp-1 hormonal linked obesity, then why is it that obesity is so rampant and one of the highest rates in developed countries? That is the wider issue. I travelled to Europe and Asia, I have never seen so many obese compared to USA. So how has it become Glp-1 hormonal linked?

Good question. Anyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ozempic is not without risks. Specifically, it dramatically slows digestion, which can cause dangerous constipation that can lead to necrosis. It should be used with caution for anyone with a compromised GI system. This has been slow-rolled by the pharma companies and kind of buried.

I believe it has also been linked to thyroid cancer?

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Watch the documentary live to 100 documentary. It talks about the blue zones in the world.

Care to elaborate on how that has anything to do with these drugs. I’ve seen the documentary. Vast majorly of us don’t live in blue zones.

[Anonymous]

People are so shallow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you know in Europe they don’t even use it for diabetic patients? They’re so far advanced medically than us, they already know it’s bad for you. But Americans are so stupid, they’ll use anything for a quick fix instead of just not eating 20 Oreos

This is absolutely false.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Nature is a high standard peer-reviewed scientific journal for scientists. This is new publication dated January 20, 2025. It’s on a paywall but essentially said ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs increase risks for pancreatitis by 146% and arthritis by 11%.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00173-5

It’s a balance of risk. It reduces risk for other things. “GLP-1 drugs were linked to a lower risk of dozens of conditions, including heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. They also lowered the risk of psychotic disorders by 18%, Alzheimer’s disease by 12% and addiction disorders by an average of 13%” those things kill more people than pancreatitis or arthritis

The way the drugs affect addictive disorders is very interesting. I think studies showed these weight loss drugs helped shopping addictions and drug addictions. Is this hormonal? I remember there was a drug given to parkinsons patients who went on to develop gambling addictions. This is fascinating and important. It's clear that just preaching self control is useless.

[Anonymous]

How mean of the pharmacist to be concerned for people's health. What a jerk!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How mean of the pharmacist to be concerned for people's health. What a jerk!

Yeah, this rouge pharmacist sure knows better than thousands of doctors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:self-control. People like people that have self-control and self-regulation.

This. I am embarrased for anyone using these drugs for weightloss. How about you learn to exercise and not stuff your mouth full of processed garbage?

Because some people are genetically predisposed to being fatter or having bigger body types. Unfortunately, we are forced to believe that weight loss is easy for EVERYONE and it's this one size fits all, cookie cutter remedy of cutting calories and increasing activity. This is not possible for some people because I'm order for their body to function optimally, they need to eat and not starve themselves. But nooo, we live in a world that tells us all that we have to be thin. They end up doing that by any means even if it compromises their health and well being. Thin above all else, right? Looking healthy trumps actual health measures at this point.

See https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/exercise-metabolism-and-weight-new-research-from-the-biggest-loser-202201272676

The painful truth is that the The Biggest Loser contestants metabolic rates dropped so much after their exercise routines and weight loss that it made it very difficult to keep the weight off. Their bodies fought against their weight loss.

There was a documentary about this. Researchers studied some of the contestants who lost the most weight and kept it off for a bit. Their bodies automatically made adjustments to store fat/maintain weight. The study found they had to continue with strenuous exercise to maintain the weight loss although recent studies say it doesn't help. One contestant who lost the most weight had to restrict himself to an 800 calorie per day diet to maintain the weight loss. Most of the contestants gained back 3/4ths of the weight.

It's confusing and contradictory but it can't be denied that peoples bodies often work against them. The adaptations the body makes to to slow down an individual's metabolic rate can undo everything. The insults about willpower aren't very helpful.

As far as why Americans are fatter is probably related to our obesogenic environment. We push unhealthy food endlessly and have many roadblocks to healthy activity. Our attitudes towards work productivity/hours ensures many people don't have time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How mean of the pharmacist to be concerned for people's health. What a jerk!

Yeah, this rouge pharmacist sure knows better than thousands of doctors.

Plenty of doctors have expressed concern over Ozempic as well, you just dont want to hear it because you cant control yourself around food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How mean of the pharmacist to be concerned for people's health. What a jerk!

Yeah, this rouge pharmacist sure knows better than thousands of doctors.

Plenty of doctors have expressed concern over Ozempic as well, you just dont want to hear it because you cant control yourself around food.

You're like super smart, helpful and sound super educated on the issue. I'm so convinced now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your friend is probably very insecure about his own weight, and also anxious about trying this drug himself because he's in a position to read about the clinical trial dossiers and post-commercialization reports on severe side effects.

I have to say, as a biologist working in pharma, he's not wrong: some people have died due to complications from slow-moving bowels, and a lot of people taking this drug will realize they can't stop taking it, otherwise the weight will come back. If I had weight issues, I would hesitate to try it too, because I've read some research articles about it that are quite disturbing!

Let's just say it's not the miracle drug people think it is. I hope your husband and sibling are very educated about it and know the limitations of their medication.

I totally disagree. I think it is a miracle drug. 75 percent of Americans are overweight. This drug helps tremendously, with relatively manageable side effects. To ignore that is so short sighted.

NP

What’s truly short sighted is to use drugs to fix the *symptom* rather than address the underlying problem.

(i.e. why are 75 percent of Americans overweight in the first place?)

That is what is brilliant about GLP-1s -- they do address the underlying problem. Which is hormonal.

How can hormones be the underlying problem for most obese people in the US? I’m not saying it’s not an issue for many people, but if it were the primary cause, wouldn’t you say the same obesity levels in all other developed countries?

It seems that gaining weight and then losing it affects metabolic processes that work to defeat weight loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:self-control. People like people that have self-control and self-regulation.

This. I am embarrased for anyone using these drugs for weightloss. How about you learn to exercise and not stuff your mouth full of processed garbage?

Because some people are genetically predisposed to being fatter or having bigger body types. Unfortunately, we are forced to believe that weight loss is easy for EVERYONE and it's this one size fits all, cookie cutter remedy of cutting calories and increasing activity. This is not possible for some people because I'm order for their body to function optimally, they need to eat and not starve themselves. But nooo, we live in a world that tells us all that we have to be thin. They end up doing that by any means even if it compromises their health and well being. Thin above all else, right? Looking healthy trumps actual health measures at this point.

See https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/exercise-metabolism-and-weight-new-research-from-the-biggest-loser-202201272676

The painful truth is that the The Biggest Loser contestants metabolic rates dropped so much after their exercise routines and weight loss that it made it very difficult to keep the weight off. Their bodies fought against their weight loss.

There was a documentary about this. Researchers studied some of the contestants who lost the most weight and kept it off for a bit. Their bodies automatically made adjustments to store fat/maintain weight. The study found they had to continue with strenuous exercise to maintain the weight loss although recent studies say it doesn't help. One contestant who lost the most weight had to restrict himself to an 800 calorie per day diet to maintain the weight loss. Most of the contestants gained back 3/4ths of the weight.

It's confusing and contradictory but it can't be denied that peoples bodies often work against them. The adaptations the body makes to to slow down an individual's metabolic rate can undo everything. The insults about willpower aren't very helpful.

As far as why Americans are fatter is probably related to our obesogenic environment. We push unhealthy food endlessly and have many roadblocks to healthy activity. Our attitudes towards work productivity/hours ensures many people don't have time.

Maybe. I have a good friend who started on one of these (I think Zepbound?) several months ago. I've spent a lot of time around her before and after. She was overweight because she ate roughly double in terms of calories of what I do on a daily basis (we travel together a lot). Lots of poor food choices. Now with the drug the quantity has gone down but the poor choices remain. I think if she doesn't stay on it she will likely regain the weight. I think it would have been a good idea for her to listen to the nutritionist the doc also recommended, but you can't really force people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:self-control. People like people that have self-control and self-regulation.

This. I am embarrased for anyone using these drugs for weightloss. How about you learn to exercise and not stuff your mouth full of processed garbage?

Because some people are genetically predisposed to being fatter or having bigger body types. Unfortunately, we are forced to believe that weight loss is easy for EVERYONE and it's this one size fits all, cookie cutter remedy of cutting calories and increasing activity. This is not possible for some people because I'm order for their body to function optimally, they need to eat and not starve themselves. But nooo, we live in a world that tells us all that we have to be thin. They end up doing that by any means even if it compromises their health and well being. Thin above all else, right? Looking healthy trumps actual health measures at this point.

See https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/exercise-metabolism-and-weight-new-research-from-the-biggest-loser-202201272676

The painful truth is that the The Biggest Loser contestants metabolic rates dropped so much after their exercise routines and weight loss that it made it very difficult to keep the weight off. Their bodies fought against their weight loss.

There was a documentary about this. Researchers studied some of the contestants who lost the most weight and kept it off for a bit. Their bodies automatically made adjustments to store fat/maintain weight. The study found they had to continue with strenuous exercise to maintain the weight loss although recent studies say it doesn't help. One contestant who lost the most weight had to restrict himself to an 800 calorie per day diet to maintain the weight loss. Most of the contestants gained back 3/4ths of the weight.

It's confusing and contradictory but it can't be denied that peoples bodies often work against them. The adaptations the body makes to to slow down an individual's metabolic rate can undo everything. The insults about willpower aren't very helpful.

As far as why Americans are fatter is probably related to our obesogenic environment. We push unhealthy food endlessly and have many roadblocks to healthy activity. Our attitudes towards work productivity/hours ensures many people don't have time.

Maybe. I have a good friend who started on one of these (I think Zepbound?) several months ago. I've spent a lot of time around her before and after. She was overweight because she ate roughly double in terms of calories of what I do on a daily basis (we travel together a lot). Lots of poor food choices. Now with the drug the quantity has gone down but the poor choices remain. I think if she doesn't stay on it she will likely regain the weight. I think it would have been a good idea for her to listen to the nutritionist the doc also recommended, but you can't really force people.

That's your friends story but you are making a mistake assuming this is every overweight person in this country. My story is that I gained weight when I took a stressful job where I worked so much overtime, uncompensated btw,I worked with 2 nutritionists and a personal trainer and weighed and measured and recorded everything and the weight would not change. I worked out for 1-2 hours every day and studied nutrition and exercise. I did hiit. My weight did not budge. I went to an internist instead of my family doc for help. She talked to me about the reality of "set points" and how extreme I would have to be about calories. They did find another health issue but resolving/maintaining that did nothing.