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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

#581

Post by tayo42 »

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…

> believe that they're substantially unhealthy unless consumed to the point of sustained caloric surplus.

They are, im not fat (visible flexed abs) I did a blood test and found some issues. I cut out the saturated fats I was eating. Brownies, butter, slow cooked meats. tests were normal again.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#582

Post by moonchrome »

0xB31B1B wrote: post #555
tyleo wrote: post #479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Losing weight was extremely challenging and socially isolating. How was it socially isolating? I’m curious because I exercise and diet and this is not my experience. I understand it being challenging though.

Eating food and drinking alcohol is a core part of most social activities. When you're losing weight, you can't really fuck up, you really need to stick to your diet. I found it difficult to maintain my diet in social settings (going to a friends party, eating at a restaurant with friends, going to a bar to celebrate something, etc) so I just stopped doing all of those things for 8 months. Like, if you're trying to q…

Everyone is addicted to food - what you're describing sounds like a great way to set yourself up for failure.

You can eat socially, you can have days you overeat and then fast the difference, etc. Pigeonholing yourself to super restrictive regimen - for what ? It's not like you have a deadline to lose the weight - and if your routine isn't easily sustainable you're just going to revert to old behavior as soon as something else starts taking your focus.

The only thing that matters with these things is trends and long term adherence.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#583

Post by rightbyte »

0xB31B1B wrote: post #21

I’m currently taking one of these drugs and it has been no less than a miracle in my life. I became obese when I was around 5, topping out around a 34 BMI. When I was 20 I lost a substantial amount of weight the old fashioned way (diet and exercise), and within 8 months I was BMI 23. Losing weight was extremely challenging and socially isolating. 7 years later, I had a bad ankle injury and regained weight to about 29…

> was eating That sounds like half a days meals? Could it not be some of the side effects were actually from you starving?

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#584

Post by ilyt »

windpower wrote: post #526
0xB31B1B wrote: post #21

I’m currently taking one of these drugs and it has been no less than a miracle in my life. I became obese when I was around 5, topping out around a 34 BMI. When I was 20 I lost a substantial amount of weight the old fashioned way (diet and exercise), and within 8 months I was BMI 23. Losing weight was extremely challenging and socially isolating. 7 years later, I had a bad ankle injury and regained weight to about 29…

I'm also on one of these drugs (Tirzepatide) and have been for a few months. The first time I remember knowing I was fat was when a babysitter made fun of me for it at age 6. I've been fat ever since and I'm in my late 30s now. I've lost significant amounts of weight (60+ pounds) three times in my adult life, through simple calorie restriction (intermittent fasting, including before I'd ever heard the term). Every ti…

What finally got me on right way on controlling hunger was just getting used to eating once a day and dropping a lot of the quick-burning foods that made me go hungry quicker. Not necessarily going super healthy but stuff like eating less bread/pasta and more say baked potatoes so still nice tasty food that doesn't get me into diet sadness mood, just shifting away from carbs

Also figuring out when I'm "brain hungry" (brain is bored and wants to munch on something/get reward for hard day at work) and when I'm "body hungry" (body actually wants some energy and is slowing down, fingers/feet getting colder etc.).

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#585

Post by yodsanklai »

paulpauper wrote: post #510
kevinpet wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I rarely eat junk food, and I'm fat. Your attitude is the same as a religious person telling depressed people they need jesus rather than prozac.

The big myth is that healthy food cannot make you fat. Basic thermodynamics shows otherwise.

Trying getting fat by eating healthy food instead of burger/fries/coke. Drink alone make a huge difference. On the long run, drinking soda instead of water can make you obese.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#586

Post by altcognito »

windpower wrote: post #526
0xB31B1B wrote: post #21

I’m currently taking one of these drugs and it has been no less than a miracle in my life. I became obese when I was around 5, topping out around a 34 BMI. When I was 20 I lost a substantial amount of weight the old fashioned way (diet and exercise), and within 8 months I was BMI 23. Losing weight was extremely challenging and socially isolating. 7 years later, I had a bad ankle injury and regained weight to about 29…

I'm also on one of these drugs (Tirzepatide) and have been for a few months. The first time I remember knowing I was fat was when a babysitter made fun of me for it at age 6. I've been fat ever since and I'm in my late 30s now. I've lost significant amounts of weight (60+ pounds) three times in my adult life, through simple calorie restriction (intermittent fasting, including before I'd ever heard the term). Every ti…

I have gerd, and was like, I was wondering if this would make it easier for me to eat small amounts and not have as much heartburn... then I read this:

> As for side effects: I've had some heartburn, but none of the other commonly reported side effects.

And I looked up the less side effects, it is a laundry list of gerd symptoms.

I can confirm, these symptoms will help you lose weight, but I mean that tounge in cheek, I hope this drug helps a lot of people but doesn't have much in the way of side effects.

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#587

Post by Rebelgecko »

partiallypro wrote: post #421
Rebelgecko wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has the health care cost been studied? I wouldn't be surprised if morbidly obese people are cheaper in the long run due to a reduced lifespan (kinda like how smokers can be cheaper than nonsmokers-they may cost more to ensure before retirement age, but it more than evens out when you looked at reduced years after that point)

Yes, it has been studied countless times. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33470881/ "Adults with obesity in the United States compared with those with normal weight experienced higher annual medical care costs by $2,505 or 100%, with costs increasing significantly with class of obesity, from 68.4% for class 1 to 233.6% for class 3. The effects of obesity raised costs in every category of care: inpatient, outpatient,…

I don't think that study (coincidentally from the maker's of semaglutide!) is answering quite the same question I'm asking, since it only looked at people aged 20-65 that were still alive without considering the difference in average lifespan.

If an obese person's healthcare costs an extra $2,000 annually for each of the age years covered in the study, that's $90,000 over their lifetime (ignoring inflation/time value of money to keep the numbers simple). But older people tend to have disproportionately higher healthcare costs.

To be kinda crass: If hypothetically obese people die at the age of 70 instead of 75, those 5 years of health care they don't need might have cost more than $90,000. Just a few ER or ICU visits can exceed that $90,000 amount, and the gap gets even starker if you take into account things like long term care and assisted living.

Another way to look at it, even staying within the 20-65 age group, is as a form of survivorship bias (or maybe there's a better term? Seems kinda bayesian but my stats days are well behind me)

For an extreme example, pretend that some adults take up the hobby of BASE jumping, and I have a study showing that their healthcare costs $10,000 per year, vs only $5,000/yr for non-base jumpers. A non-basejumping adult only needs $225k of healthcare before they become a senior citizen, but a basejumper needs $450k! So basejumping increases overall costs in the healthcare system, right?

But wait! BASE jumping is a dangerous activity (hence the medical bills), and many BASE jumpers die young. Let's say that every year 5% of BASE jumpers have fatal accidents, which means that the average base jumper dies around the age of 33. A BASE jumper who only needs medical care for 13 years doesn't cost the full $450k, they would only use $130k of healthcare. Which actually makes their lifetime medical bills much cheaper than that of a non-jumper!

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#588

Post by burkaman »

halfmatthalfcat wrote: post #527
HDThoreaun wrote: post #344

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How paternalistic.

I can live with that but it's from passion than from a place of judgement.

> you decided that these are too "hard" and opted for magic pills.

> Just a shame to see people make progress in their weight loss journey the right(er) ways then succumb to weakness and opt for voodoo.

> It also builds character

> instead of lipo or drugs, I decided to grind it out

Do you know what the word judgement means?

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#589

Post by ilyt »

0xB31B1B wrote: post #555
tyleo wrote: post #479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Losing weight was extremely challenging and socially isolating. How was it socially isolating? I’m curious because I exercise and diet and this is not my experience. I understand it being challenging though.

Eating food and drinking alcohol is a core part of most social activities. When you're losing weight, you can't really fuck up, you really need to stick to your diet. I found it difficult to maintain my diet in social settings (going to a friends party, eating at a restaurant with friends, going to a bar to celebrate something, etc) so I just stopped doing all of those things for 8 months. Like, if you're trying to q…

I just plan for it and eat less before/after event. I also got used to just eating rarer so say skipping dinner coz there is some event in the evening isn't a big deal

Re: ‘Breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers

#590

Post by balls187 »

linsomniac wrote: post #357
drchickensalad wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the drug?

FYI: GoodRX says it costs $1K/month.

The next gen lily drug is expected to cost $1500 for a 30-day supply.

The US government stated $18000 per year was a fair price to pay.

There is no money in the cure. We sell you the disease, and charge you 5x for the treatment.

Fwiw I am obese.

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