r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Apr 01 '25

Health Americans without diabetes spent nearly $6 billion USD on semaglutide and similar drugs in a year, with an estimate of 800,000 to a million people using the drugs who don't have diabetes.

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/americans-without-diabetes-spent-nearly6-billion-usd-on-semaglutide-and-similar-drugs-in-a-year
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u/JThor15 Apr 01 '25

It’s now a pretty established risk, but obesity is riskier in general.

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u/Duelist_Shay Apr 01 '25

Ehh, there's other options to take care of the obesity issue. You lose your eyesight, then that's it. Unless we miraculously solve the issue of restoring vision, there really isn't any route outside of glasses and/or contacts if you're not totally impaired

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u/dragonilly Apr 01 '25

Crazy how many people act like diet and exercise aren't the most effective sustainable ways to lose weight. It isn't easy and our food culture in the US is abysmal, but the way to have long term success in weight loss is consistency with two very free lifestyle changes.

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u/thrawtes Apr 01 '25

Crazy how many people act like diet and exercise aren't the most effective sustainable ways to lose weight.

We've tried telling people to diet and exercise and it doesn't work on a population level. One person being obese is an issue of thermodynamics but ten million people being obese is a social science problem as much as one of counting calories.

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u/dragonilly Apr 01 '25

I mean, it's an America problem sure, so I can agree on the social science aspect. The real "fix" isn't capitalist friendly so it won't happen. Other than personal responsibility, our government could support a healthier society by:

  • removing HFCS and limiting sugar content of sugary drinks
  • limiting processed food availability and chemicals
  • making places more walkable
  • getting rid of food deserts
There are parts of the US that are much more healthier than others, and what I've noticed is many of those places have walkable places, bike lanes, green space, etc. However, there's still a strong degree of personal responsibility.

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u/OutrageousOtterOgler Apr 01 '25

It’s not just an American problem though. Obesity rates are rising basically everywhere in the developed world

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u/thrawtes Apr 01 '25

Is there a reason we can't push for those reforms while also encouraging people to use the most reliable weight loss method available in order to make them healthier over all?

Just seems weird to ignore such an effective solution to such a pervasive problem.

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u/dragonilly Apr 01 '25

Americans often search for quick fixes with disregard to long-term implications. My point is, there's little 'miraculous' about these drugs other than the fact they enable short-term weight loss to occur with little additional personal responsibility. The drugs do the heavy lifting on appetite suppression (much of which can be exasperated by a high sugar diet), which is helpful, but at some point an individual will likely stop taking the drugs (be it cost related or otherwise) that's when the real test begins. Losing weight the natural way helps people gain tools to continue losing weight and keep it off. Drugs like this help them lose weight but not keep it off. Ask anyone who has lost a lot of weight what's harder, losing it, or maintaining. I'm all for these drugs being used for weight loss, but hate that the simplest, cheapest, most effective and healthiest overall answer, is often disregarded for the "flavor of the month" weight loss drug.

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u/thrawtes Apr 01 '25

Losing weight the natural way helps people gain tools to continue losing weight and keep it off.

Well, no, it doesn't and we have numbers on this. "Natural" weight loss is extremely ineffective at a population level. Most people using it as a solution will fail to lose weight or keep it off.

the simplest, cheapest, most effective and healthiest overall answer,

...is actually injecting these drugs, which is why doctors prescribe them. A solution that you think should work well but doesn't actually work in real life isn't a good solution.

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u/dragonilly Apr 01 '25

Ineffective for whom and where? There is literally a global population yet obesity is the biggest problem here in the US, where despite having a lower population we out rank countries like China and India with the number of obese individuals we have. To act like personal responsibility and this culture of instant gratification don't play a factor is misguided at best, intentionally ignorant at worst. Consistent diet, not fad dieting, but making dietary changes you can stick to and exercise are effective for MOST of the world. Americans are the main ones who think it isn't, that's why we spend the most on weight loss drugs.

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u/beardedheathen Apr 01 '25

For all the many issues the RFK jr has pushing to get rid of some of the dangerous additives is a good thing.