New perspectives on weight loss drugs
Dear Readers: In a recent column, I was critical of the sudden popularity of diabetes drugs to lose weight. I was responding to reports that a growing number of people are using them to drop a few pounds. Many readers felt I was not current on the latest studies in this area for the clinically obese. I am grateful for the many letters I received on this topic:
Dear Annie: I feel compelled to respond to an individual writing about their friend who is successfully losing weight with the aid of GLP-1 receptor medications like Ozempic and Wegovy.
Yes, healthy eating and exercise are an important part of any lifestyle, but there are those of us who, through a mix of genetics and other factors, find ourselves overweight. We are not like you; our weight challenges are not simply a failure to exercise proper willpower.
I lost 50 pounds through healthy choices before turning to these new medications after years of not being able to lose more on my own. Once on the medication for a couple of months, the most puzzling emotion came over me: anger. This is what it feels like to be in a regular body.
These drugs were discovered initially in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. I do not feel guilty about intervening now instead of waiting around for Type 2 diabetes to take me. We already face barriers on accessing these medications. Most insurance plans still get away with excluding coverage for obesity treatment, so we have to pay $350-$1,350 a month out-of-pocket, depending on the medication. But of course, if we get so sick that we become Type 2 diabetics, the drugs are paradoxically covered without issue.
Encourage your readers not to pass judgment on the use of these medications — at least until they have carried around an extra 100 pounds every day of their life. — Enlighten the Skinny
Dear Enlighten: You state the case so clearly that you could be the spokesperson for the clinically obese who are benefiting from these medications. I very much appreciate your important comments.
Dear Annie: I am a registered nurse who is administering this class of drugs to patients who suffer from obesity-related diseases and have difficulty losing weight by traditional diet and exercise alone. There are a whole host of factors for some individuals that make losing weight by traditional methods next to impossible. There are factors such as thyroid disease, PCOS, autoimmune, certain medications, genetics, etc., that make losing weight so difficult. — Ignorance Is Never Bliss
Dear Annie: I urge everyone to watch the Nova special called “The Truth About Fat,” which dives into the science and new knowledge behind the explosion of obesity globally. Science now knows that the gene for obesity occurs in over 30% of the population. — Science Matters