The Problematic Arrival of Anti-Obesity Drugs

Living life with an overweight body means you are less likely to be hired for a job and get paid less than someone who is not overweight. , the effects of weight discrimination may actually be shortening the lives of fat people.

The decision to take drugs becomes a “devil’s choice,” says Osborne. “Claim that you have the right to be who you are, or trade that right for more rights and privileges in the culture.” We want fat people to have the same rights as everyone else.

Novo Nordisk’s “It’s Bigger Than Me” campaign, featuring actor Queen Latifah, has drawn particular criticism. Through it, the company seeks to align with the fat acceptance issue — eliminating weight stigma and prejudice and shattering the misconception that obesity is simply a deliberate lack of control — while simultaneously making fat people smaller. To do. “To say that removing obesity will give them a chance to thrive is not. You’re only making people small, and you’re selling them smallness as a gateway out of oppression.” says Marquisel Mercedes, a PhD student in public health at Brown University.

But these concerns are refuted by plain truths. Anti-obesity drugs are effective in tackling complex conditions. While the underlying causes of obesity are still unknown, a conflicting consensus among researchers has led to one irrefutable fact. Research has repeatedly proven that diets are not effective in losing or maintaining weight. “The concept is wrong,” says Francesco Rubino, Professor of Metabolic Surgery at King’s College London. “It is not true that obesity is the result of excess energy.”

Having an effective drug that can step where other interventions have failed offers important health benefits for some people. It increases the risk of many debilitating and fatal conditions, including and certain forms of cancer. Rubino says. According to David Macklin, a physician who has treated many patients with semaglutide, those who take semaglutide, in addition to reduced urges to eat, experience increased dopaminergic activity, such as drinking and shopping. The urge to participate in behaviors fueled by

But these treatments are not for the masses. These apply to specific patient groups: those with a clinical definition of obesity her 30 kg/m² or those with a BMI greater than or equal to her 27 kg/m² (i.e. classified as overweight) . If you have another weight-related condition that threatens your health, such as high blood pressure. (It’s worth mentioning that BMI, the most commonly used diagnostic tool worldwide for determining obesity, has been shown to be a flawed and discriminatory health indicator.)

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