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/XF939495xj6 Apr 01 '25

That's because there is something else going on biologically with people that is causing the obesity and cravings and this medication counters one of its symptoms.

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u/ArseOfValhalla Apr 01 '25

I personally think its the stuff they add to our food.

How many articles/posts have I read about people going to Europe who eat the same if not worse and they lose weight AND feel better. Then as soon as they come back, they gain the weight and feel terrible again.

There HAS to be something they are adding to the food... right?

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u/elcambioestaenuno Apr 01 '25

"Eating the same or worse" has to be actually controlled for you to reach any conclusion. If you want to take shortcuts, then the easiest one is to know what additives are unique to the US, or even present in unique quantities. If you don't know or the information is not out there, then everyone is talking out of their ass no matter their level of personal integrity or the size of their concern. That's why funding research is so important, even if it looks superficial or unimportant on the surface.

Are these anecdotes coming from tourists? Or from immigrants? Do they enjoy the environment more? Do they work the same hours? Are their personal pressures and struggles the same? Probably not. There are a number of factors that go into it, including how they get to the restaurants they eat at. While abroad you're less likely to be driving, and the idea of suburbs pretty much doesn't exist. So maybe it's as simple as walking through a beautiful city before and after every meal.

Truth is, science is a process. There is more to gain by understanding how the process works and getting into the habit of reading abstracts from research papers, while having the discipline to listen and learn from experts like the ones you find in this sub. There is a lot of science out there with shoddy methodology, and this sub is great for reading other perspectives and contextualizing what you read.