Are weight loss medications healthy?
Dear Annie:
My sister, “Claire,” is getting married this summer and has lost weight by getting injections of drugs for diabetes.
Claire might have had a little padding, but I never thought of her as being fat. And Claire is not the only person I know who is taking these drugs for weight loss. I know several others, and they all seem to be very happy with the results.
Claire lost 10 pounds in the first few weeks of getting the shots, and she keeps losing weight every week. Her doctor gave her a prescription because her BMI was in the obese category, even though, as I say, to me she did not look obese. Now she has dropped another 40 pounds, and she is starting to look like a
ANNIE LANE
skeleton.
I asked my doctor about this popular new form of weight loss. Instead of talking about these drugs as weight loss aids, he told me that there is an epidemic of obesity in our country, where more than 40% of the population is statistically obese. But I did not ask him to prescribe the drugs for me, and he did not offer to do so. According to my BMI of 20, I am in the “healthy” category. I enjoy exercising three or four times a week and don’t want to be dependent on any drug.
My husband has been lifting weights for many years and has lots of muscles, which he says weigh more than fat. Yet his BMI says he is obese, and he says I should ignore the BMI as a measurement of obesity. He says body fat percentage is a much better indicator of health and fitness.
Claire is in great spirits, and I don’t want to discourage her since she feels so good about her weight loss. But the whole thing scares me — the idea of taking diabetes injections to drop a few pounds. What is your advice? — Without Drugs
Dear Without Drugs:
I love the way you signed your letter. You are literally doing it without drugs, and we all know that is a much healthier approach to losing weight than taking regular injections of drugs designed for coping with diabetes. Your regular exercise and, I suspect, healthy eating habits are something you can enjoy every day of your life.
Imagine waking up knowing that you have to give yourself an injection so you can “look healthy.” I wouldn’t want that, and I’m glad you wouldn’t either.