Ozempic shows anti-aging effects in trial • Hacker News Board

Re: Ozempic shows anti-aging effects in trial

#461

Post by jalk » Wed, Aug 06, 2025, 9:22 AM UTC

mensetmanusman wrote: post #327

sarchertech wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doctors don’t get paid for writing prescriptions. They don’t get kickbacks for writing prescriptions. A small subset of doctors are paid by pharmaceutical companies to run trials or provide expertise, but you can look that up since it’s publicly available information, and it’s not based on them prescribing you anything. At most a drug rep comes by and brings donuts or something to talk about their new drugs. Source w…

They get paid in lower risk deductibles. If a patient demands a drug they saw on commercials, the doctor can reduce liability by prescribing it in many cases.

Wonder how the "online star-rating economy" affects US doctors.

Re: Ozempic shows anti-aging effects in trial

#462

Post by boredhedgehog » Wed, Aug 06, 2025, 9:22 AM UTC

b800h wrote: post #427

strken wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"No free lunch" is a reasonable question to ask when evaluating medication, if it would improve the evolutionary fitness of the majority of people. I think this is behind some of the skepticism. If Ozempic is so great then how come our bodies don't just produce more GLP-1? How come we aren't like chimps, with eternally shredded bodies and cheese grater abs, provided we get the protein to support them? I would guess t…

The other side of this is related to morals. People learned self-discipline by having to moderate their diet. Replacing that challenge with an injection is another example of a world in which people are not challenged to grow as people, but merely go out and buy something to make themselves feel or look better.

That's only relevant if socialized medicine forces you to pay for the moral failures of other people, though. Spending your own money to feel better is widely accepted behavior.

Re: Ozempic shows anti-aging effects in trial

#463

Post by eru » Wed, Aug 06, 2025, 9:23 AM UTC

notpushkin wrote: post #436

strken wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would have to check my sources but I'm pretty sure some of them have been prescribed for weight loss at various times. DNP and stimulants I'm more confident of, nicotine and tape worms I'm a bit iffy about.

Technically, nicotine can be classified as a stimulant: https://web.archive.org/web/20250712041104/https://psychonau...

It's not a straight-up stimulant. It's complicated.

Re: Ozempic shows anti-aging effects in trial

#464

Post by saberience » Wed, Aug 06, 2025, 9:23 AM UTC

const_cast wrote: post #95

kjkjadksj wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People on ozempic certainly look more like the crypt keeper than a younger version of themselves. You lose all that buccal fat that defines your young adult face.

That's just what happens when you get skinny. People who have always been skinny just look sickly always so we don't notice.

I've always been naturally slim and people my whole life have been telling me I look 10-15 years younger than my actual age... the "Ozempic face" is a totally different look, it makes you look gaunt and dying.

Re: Ozempic shows anti-aging effects in trial

#465

Post by highfrequency » Wed, Aug 06, 2025, 9:24 AM UTC

strken wrote: post #358

some_random wrote: post #15

I find it fascinating how much a pretty large group of people just hate semaglutides and seemingly need to believe that it's some kind of Faustian bargain. I'm not talking about the people who are cautious or suspicious, that's more than reasonable, but it's clear that it's not cautious optimism in many.

"No free lunch" is a reasonable question to ask when evaluating medication, if it would improve the evolutionary fitness of the majority of people. I think this is behind some of the skepticism. If Ozempic is so great then how come our bodies don't just produce more GLP-1? How come we aren't like chimps, with eternally shredded bodies and cheese grater abs, provided we get the protein to support them? I would guess t…

"No free lunch" is not good intuition for many biological processes. There has been near zero evolutionary pressure toward improvements that primarily manifest after age 60.

Separately, evolution took place in a very energy and calorie constrained environment which is very dissimilar to today's world. Many people do not feel spontaneous desire to fast or run laps even though these are clearly beneficial.

Re: Ozempic shows anti-aging effects in trial

#466

Post by boredhedgehog » Wed, Aug 06, 2025, 9:24 AM UTC

Llamamoe wrote: post #452

b800h wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other side of this is related to morals. People learned self-discipline by having to moderate their diet. Replacing that challenge with an injection is another example of a world in which people are not challenged to grow as people, but merely go out and buy something to make themselves feel or look better.

Honestly, this is essentially BS. I'd say that 95% of healthy weight people stay that weight because their metabolism and appetite works properly. People who stay in shape by paying careful attention to their diet are a tiny minority.

It only takes one man to prove that it's possible. That makes it a moral matter.

Re: Ozempic shows anti-aging effects in trial

#467

Post by eru » Wed, Aug 06, 2025, 9:24 AM UTC

mbac32768 wrote: post #306

jjice wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was kind of scared of these when Ozempic starting picking of steam for weight loss. I was worried that this would be having more negative effects. Turns out, generally speaking, if used with you doctor, these things are pretty safe, especially comparatively to some of the negatives of being overweight. And then I saw some of the stories on HN about how it's changed peoples lives for the better. And then people in m…

The skepticism people have towards metabolic dysregulation models of obesity is too much. We know for a fact the inverse happens: girl starves herself for years to slim down to become a ballerina, eventually decides it's not worth it and tries to stop being so dangerously thin and... can't. She never feels hungry. Every time she eats she can only stomach a few bites before pushing it away. Just eat ice cream? Instant…

> Obviously she broke her metabolic system and she obviously did it through diet.

It sounds 'obvious', but I don't think it's obvious that she did it through diet.

Re: Ozempic shows anti-aging effects in trial

#468

Post by RivieraKid » Wed, Aug 06, 2025, 9:24 AM UTC

some_random wrote: post #15

I find it fascinating how much a pretty large group of people just hate semaglutides and seemingly need to believe that it's some kind of Faustian bargain. I'm not talking about the people who are cautious or suspicious, that's more than reasonable, but it's clear that it's not cautious optimism in many.

It can result in a loss of relative status or self-esteem for the people who are fit. If I'm fit thanks to some combination of genetics and lifestyle, this fact is probably a source of my self-esteem, it's something that makes me better than most people in a certain aspect.

Re: Ozempic shows anti-aging effects in trial

#469

Post by eru » Wed, Aug 06, 2025, 9:25 AM UTC

Llamamoe wrote: post #453

freehorse wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This concept would be hard to grasp for me if I did not know personally a person facing such issue. I don't think most people can understand that "just eat more" does not work in such cases, because most people can eat just fine even if not really hungry.

> because most people can eat just fine even if not really hungry. I literally cannot imagine how this is possible. Don't you feel full? Doesn't your body start refusing to swallow? Doesn't the food turn tasteless and start making you nauseous? 100-200kcal over your BMR, sure, but beyond that?

Look at approximately any thanksgiving dinner in the US?

Throughout history, occasional lavish feasts have been very common in nearly every culture.

Re: Ozempic shows anti-aging effects in trial

#470

Post by eru » Wed, Aug 06, 2025, 9:26 AM UTC

ducksinhats wrote: post #359

aianus wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a drug I can take to gain weight?

I don't want you to consider it among the flippant replies here but definitely alcohol will work up to a point, it's somewhat of a contradiction though because severe alcoholics are usually quite malnourished and thin.

Alcohol itself has a lot of calories. Or does it cause even more appetite in addition?