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Diet Drugs Work: Why Won’t Doctors Prescribe Them?

newyorker.com

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Re: Diet Drugs Work: Why Won’t Doctors Prescribe Them?

#21

Post by awjr »

thefuzz wrote: post #11
eli wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why you are so cynical. It seems like there's pretty clear progressive movement on several issues. I never thought I'd see a black president in my lifetime.

I don't see him as being cynical. I think these are questions worth asking given that the OP is asking why diet pills aren't prescribed. It's looking at a problem in a systemic way rather than isolated events, at least according to me.

Allowing the prescription of diet pills treats the symptom and not the cause.

Anecdotally I've been overweight most of my life and it is only through a change in lifestyle (cycling to work and a shift to low carb diet i.e. low sugar) that I have seen significant weight loss.

That's not to say prescription diet pills wouldn't work, but without underlying lifestyle changes I would expect the person to using the pills to be going on and off them for the rest of their life.

Re: Diet Drugs Work: Why Won’t Doctors Prescribe Them?

#22

Post by theorique »

JulianMorrison wrote: post #14
spodek wrote: post #5

More relevant questions: - Why don't we stop subsidizing corn so much? - Why don't we teach effective nutrition and cooking in school? - Why don't we teach effective exercise, sports, and fitness in schools? - If we can ban alcohol and tobacco sales to children, why not things like added sugar, hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, etc? - If we can ban alcohol and tobacco advertising to children, why not products with added…

There are two major things missing from your list. First: the lipostat mechanism needs fixing, because evolution built what worked, not what would be ideal. Exposure to overeating should not result in a life sentence of obesity. Second: replace capitalism. There is a reason why there are food deserts, why people have to make the choice of nutrition versus quantity, why people aren't educated on nutrition, why people…

The NY Daily News demonstrated that the "food desert" concept is mostly a myth.

https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/food-desert-myth-article...

edit: Also NY Times, if that is a more authoritative source for some.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/health/research/pairing-of...

Re: Diet Drugs Work: Why Won’t Doctors Prescribe Them?

#23

Post by at-fates-hands »

spodek wrote: post #5

More relevant questions: - Why don't we stop subsidizing corn so much? - Why don't we teach effective nutrition and cooking in school? - Why don't we teach effective exercise, sports, and fitness in schools? - If we can ban alcohol and tobacco sales to children, why not things like added sugar, hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, etc? - If we can ban alcohol and tobacco advertising to children, why not products with added…

It's as much about the unhealthy lifestyles which are promoted as it is about the "internet" society we live in. People simply want something right now. They don't want to go to the gym and do the hard work and lose those 10lbs over say six to eight months. They want to take a pill so they can lose 10-20lbs over two months.

It's like anything in life. You have to put in the hard work to get the results you want. I feel like giving people a pill is taking the easy way out.

Re: Diet Drugs Work: Why Won’t Doctors Prescribe Them?

#24

Post by 3pt14159 »

spodek wrote: post #5

More relevant questions: - Why don't we stop subsidizing corn so much? - Why don't we teach effective nutrition and cooking in school? - Why don't we teach effective exercise, sports, and fitness in schools? - If we can ban alcohol and tobacco sales to children, why not things like added sugar, hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, etc? - If we can ban alcohol and tobacco advertising to children, why not products with added…

Obviously preventative measures should be our first resort. Obviously all farm subsidize (or at least those that are not in alignment with a healthy population) should be ended.

But I take issue with banning sugary, hydrogenated things. The problem with the modern diet isn't that a kid drinks a Coca Cola with his McDonald's fries once a month when he goes out for a treat with his mom after swim practice. The problem is that the poor lack both the skills, the time, and the money to prepare healthy and tasty food. I made homemade beef chutney last night. Mango, two different types of onions, red peppers, other peppers, etc. It was delicious. Cost about $4 or $5 per person just in food, not counting my Wustof knives or $200 non-teflon non-stick pan.

Kraft dinner would have taken 1/10th the time, at 1/5th the cost, with absolutely no knowledge or skill. If we want the poor to eat healthier we need to show them options that are cheap, easy, and fast. Tuna fish on Rye with an orange. That type of thing.

Re: Diet Drugs Work: Why Won’t Doctors Prescribe Them?

#25

Post by jamespo »

tocomment wrote: post #20
spodek wrote: post #5

More relevant questions: - Why don't we stop subsidizing corn so much? - Why don't we teach effective nutrition and cooking in school? - Why don't we teach effective exercise, sports, and fitness in schools? - If we can ban alcohol and tobacco sales to children, why not things like added sugar, hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, etc? - If we can ban alcohol and tobacco advertising to children, why not products with added…

I've been looking for a way to make vegetables like brocoli or green beans palatable. What's your secret?

he / she covers them in cheese

Re: Diet Drugs Work: Why Won’t Doctors Prescribe Them?

#27

Post by JamesArgo »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #23
spodek wrote: post #5

More relevant questions: - Why don't we stop subsidizing corn so much? - Why don't we teach effective nutrition and cooking in school? - Why don't we teach effective exercise, sports, and fitness in schools? - If we can ban alcohol and tobacco sales to children, why not things like added sugar, hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, etc? - If we can ban alcohol and tobacco advertising to children, why not products with added…

It's as much about the unhealthy lifestyles which are promoted as it is about the "internet" society we live in. People simply want something right now. They don't want to go to the gym and do the hard work and lose those 10lbs over say six to eight months. They want to take a pill so they can lose 10-20lbs over two months. It's like anything in life. You have to put in the hard work to get the results you want. I fe…

One should avoid falling into the trap of thoughtlessly shunning quick, easy solutions.

Re: Diet Drugs Work: Why Won’t Doctors Prescribe Them?

#28

Post by seiji »

at-fates-hands wrote: post #23
spodek wrote: post #5

More relevant questions: - Why don't we stop subsidizing corn so much? - Why don't we teach effective nutrition and cooking in school? - Why don't we teach effective exercise, sports, and fitness in schools? - If we can ban alcohol and tobacco sales to children, why not things like added sugar, hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, etc? - If we can ban alcohol and tobacco advertising to children, why not products with added…

It's as much about the unhealthy lifestyles which are promoted as it is about the "internet" society we live in. People simply want something right now. They don't want to go to the gym and do the hard work and lose those 10lbs over say six to eight months. They want to take a pill so they can lose 10-20lbs over two months. It's like anything in life. You have to put in the hard work to get the results you want. I fe…

10lbs over say six to eight months.

That's a long time. Go keto and drop 5 pounds a week.

Re: Diet Drugs Work: Why Won’t Doctors Prescribe Them?

#29

Post by tocomment »

Couldn't another part of the problem simply be lack of marketing for these drugs?

Everyone is aware there are goto drugs to toenail fungus and restless leg syndrome from all of the commercials. Shouldn't drugs like these that apply to even more people be all over the airwaves?

Re: Diet Drugs Work: Why Won’t Doctors Prescribe Them?

#30

Post by Symmetry »

power2u wrote: post #2

>The drugs work by suppressing appetite, by increasing metabolism, and by other mechanisms that are not yet fully understood. Why would FDA approve something which it we don't fully understand?

So, what do you think would be the costs and benefits of waiting to approve a drug until we fully understood how produced it's intended effects? Clearly waiting until we understood every possible interaction for a drug would prevent any sort of mistake, but I'm not aware that we understand any drug in that detail. I hope you wouldn't suggest we abandon antibiotics because theres a chance that any given person taking one for the first time might have a unique allergic reaction.

My best guess on the numbers is that waiting to understand all drugs mechanisms beyond existing testing would, over the course of the FDA's history, have saved dozens of lives at the cost of failing to save millions.

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