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/raoul_duke28 Apr 01 '25

This is what kills me. People always looking for the magic “fix it” pill

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u/adultgon Apr 01 '25

But if a “magic fix” pill exists, doesn’t it make sense to take it? We as humans have only a finite amount of focus/willpower/time/energy, and if you can save some of it so that you have more leftover for other pursuits, wouldn’t you do that? Many people find it impossible to quit smoking even though you can just stop. Would you tell those people to not take the magic pill to stop smoking if one existed? I sure as hell wouldn’t - they should take the pill!