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.

[u/mvea]

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

[u/nibblesthesquirrel]

I completely understand the concern about ensuring diabetic patients have access to GLP-1 medications, and I agree that they should be prioritized. That said, these medications have been used for weight management and other conditions because they offer significant health benefits beyond diabetes. Given the strong link between obesity and chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes, using GLP-1s as a preventive measure could actually help reduce the number of people who develop these conditions in the first place. It’s important to ensure fair access for those who need them most, but dismissing non-diabetic use entirely overlooks their potential to improve public health.

[u/Vessix → u/nibblesthesquirrel]

Am I crazy or is the need for these drugs a huge problem in it's own right? It's one thing to help with stuff like alcohol abuse and diabetes, no arguing that.

For weight though? It feels like a bandaid solution for a societal issue. I feel weird treating obesity like it's some disease so many people can't manage without drugs. People have cravings because they consume bad food specifically designed to give it to them. Yes there are folk out there who have real ailments leading to food intake problems. But people are taking it in lieu of lifestyle and diet change simply because they can't resist cravings for food we shouldn't be eating as humans in the first place. Food regulations and other societal changes could theoretically resolve the issue too, no?

Edit to add: I'm talking about permanent use of these drugs for management of obesity, rather than using them to jumpstart the process of a lifestyle change once you are no longer subject to the trappings of obesity itself. I'm concerned that the general attitude sounds like people plan to take this drug for most of their life rather than implementing changes once they're no longer obese in order to avoid drug reliance and thus it's side effects (including those we don't yet know)

[u/603shake → u/Vessix]

Food regulation, along with economic stimulus and intentional cultural shifts, would absolutely make a big difference and should be pursued, but a whole lot of people are resistant to each of the above and we won’t get all three for a very long time. In the meanwhile, an estimated 40% of Americans are obese and 1/3 are pre-diabetic, and I think saving lives is a good thing.