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‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

nature.com

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Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#181

Post by tptacek »

drowsspa wrote: post #128
dmix wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't want to eat empty carbs, anywhere near as much. Because I feel like they make me feel sick. I did a keto diet obsessively for a while and I still have a psychological revulsion to drinking coke or eating cake even a year later. Those sorts of things are long term wins.

I wish I got to this stage where people lose their cravings. While I'm at home I can control my diet pretty well, but as soon as there's junk food in front of me I look like a pig. And I've lost like 30 pounds, to put it into perspective.

As a data point: under carb restriction and fasting, I won't think about food at all until I happen to eat some threshold number of carbs, or I get actual hunger (shaking, weakness, headache --- usually around 20 hours in). Once I cross that carb threshold, I'll be snacky until I go to sleep.

People have different metabolic situations, but if you haven't tried fasting+restriction, it's pretty interesting.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#182

Post by bioemerl »

> In the past, scientists and the public often thought that those with obesity simply lacked the willpower to lose weight. But evidence is growing that most people’s bodies have a natural size that can be hard to change.

In the context where we have gone from obesity rates of 13 percent to 40, to suggest that people have a natural weight and that's the cause of this seems absurd to me.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#183

Post by gumby »

gnicholas wrote: post #3

> After decades of work, researchers are finally seeing signs of success: a new generation of anti-obesity medications that drastically diminish weight without the serious side effects that have plagued previous efforts. … > Nutter is concerned that people might start these treatments — whose side effects, such as nausea and vomiting, can be severe — to escape weight stigma, rather than to serve a true health need So…

> to escape weight stigma, rather than to serve a true health need

This is an unfair framing by the researchers

For a while I worked in pharma on a drug program for a harmless* "ailment", nail fungus. What I learned is that some people suffer serious psychological consequences, such as marital issues or avoiding situations where they might be barefoot, like the beach. People who have it in their hands may avoid social situations all together, which is even worse and reduces life expectancy.

We have a natural cultural bias in this regard. It's not just the phantom of the opera: in films the hero usually has a clear complexion and the villain often does not (not always to the extent of Darth Vader of course). Now we understand more about disease etiology this bias is no longer helpful, and is in fact destructive.

Losing weight addresses true health needs (increased rates of cancer, cardiac issues etc) but weight stigma has important side effects as well.

* The various fungi that attack skin, scalp, nails etc eat a particular shape of squalene which some people make (referred to unfairly in the medical literature as a "squalene defect"). You're not going to catch it from another person -- there's a good chance you're breathing the spores right now. Either you're genetically predisposed or you're not. And all it does is munch on a tiny amount of your body and causes no other problem.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#184

Post by mcculley »

ianbutler wrote: post #147
mcculley wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I will wait for some version that does not cause "strong nausea, extreme fatigue, brain fog, and constipation".

You forgot the key part of "for the first 3 months" the assumption is that they largely tapered off for OP I think. That's an easy trade off for me personally.

I did not forget that. I am not going to risk brain fog for three months.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#185

Post by mensetmanusman »

sfusato wrote: post #79

> I believe that everyone, even the skinny folks, should be on GLP1 drugs for the longevity effects. Are you for real? Serious question.

Those that haven’t heard of Chesterton’s fence might jump at the opportunity to live like no humans in the history of the universe.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#186

Post by philjohn »

dcolkitt wrote: post #152
rajin444 wrote: post #56

This drug is a net good for society, but we have to fix the root problem. Much of the food we eat is filled with addictive ingredients (sugar, excess fats/oils, etc) that provide little nutritional value but are highly addictive. We’re subsidizing companies that create unhealthy addictive food and subsidizing companies to create drugs to counter the unhealthy addictive food. This is an enormous waste of resources.

Disagree. People genuinely enjoy those foods, because they're tasty and flavorful. And there's zero reason to believe that they're substantially unhealthy unless consumed to the point of sustained caloric surplus. We know this because we have hunter-gatherer populations who consume 50% of their diets in sugar (e.g. the Hadza) or fats (e.g. Intuit), and they have none of the diseases of abundance found in modern popul…

Does the type of sugar, or type of fat not play a part here?

HFCS is notorious for the bad effects on the body, versus something like honey.

Same for the Intuit, simpler animal fats vs hydrogenated "trans" fats?

I feel like the key difference in their diets is it's not overly processed and full of things we've decided to put in there for cost reasons (corn subsidies making HFCS cheaper than cane sugar, and trans fats are cheaper than more expensive animal products).

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#187

Post by joe_the_user »

dcolkitt wrote: post #152
rajin444 wrote: post #56

This drug is a net good for society, but we have to fix the root problem. Much of the food we eat is filled with addictive ingredients (sugar, excess fats/oils, etc) that provide little nutritional value but are highly addictive. We’re subsidizing companies that create unhealthy addictive food and subsidizing companies to create drugs to counter the unhealthy addictive food. This is an enormous waste of resources.

Disagree. People genuinely enjoy those foods, because they're tasty and flavorful. And there's zero reason to believe that they're substantially unhealthy unless consumed to the point of sustained caloric surplus. We know this because we have hunter-gatherer populations who consume 50% of their diets in sugar (e.g. the Hadza) or fats (e.g. Intuit), and they have none of the diseases of abundance found in modern popul…

I don't think it's half-plausible to compare Hadza or Intuit diets to a Big Mac and a soda. Neither transfats nor processed sugars are in the Hadza diet, just for example.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#188

Post by gumby »

jobs_throwaway wrote: post #6

Jesus christ, why is nature quoting a psychologist in an article about biology? > However, some researchers worry that these drugs play into some societies’ obsession with being thin. Body size isn’t always a good predictor of health. “I’m really hesitant to be excited about something that I think is potentially harmful from a weight stigma perspective”

My comment on another thread (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34251033) addresses this. Psychological issues are real health issues.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#189

Post by mcculley »

LordDragonfang wrote: post #140
mcculley wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I will wait for some version that does not cause "strong nausea, extreme fatigue, brain fog, and constipation".

Those are mostly just second-order symptoms of hypoglycemia/running a severe caloric deficit.

I have a lot of experience with fasting. I have never experienced those symptoms as a result of restricting calories.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#190

Post by viro »

bioemerl wrote: post #182

> In the past, scientists and the public often thought that those with obesity simply lacked the willpower to lose weight. But evidence is growing that most people’s bodies have a natural size that can be hard to change. In the context where we have gone from obesity rates of 13 percent to 40, to suggest that people have a natural weight and that's the cause of this seems absurd to me.

And it makes more logical sense to you that everyone is just weak-willed?
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