Jon Bignault

Don’t worry though The rates for their physicians are $1m a year. “Transparent pricing” lmao

Have GLP-1 drugs won? Judging by both sentiment here on X and the enthusiasm for them in healthcare, they have. Those of us who asserted that they're a band-aid for obesity, that you could get similar results by ditching ultra-processed food, increasing protein intake, and getting exercise, have lost. I get the enthusiasm for these drugs: people who have struggled with obesity finally found something that helped, even if it's not exactly a cure. Doctors, after years of talking to patients about lifestyle changes with no results, are also happy. Pharmaceutical companies are also enthusiastic, with new versions being developed and new companies jumping in, as these drugs are highly profitable. With possibly a large fraction of the population eventually taking these drugs, potentially for life, one can see why. Yet the fact (or opinion, anyway) that people are addicted to ultra-processed food, that this food is accepted as normal by almost everyone, and that doctor's advice to eat less and move more is one of the most ineffective pieces of weight-loss advice, remains. Two-year discontinuation rates of these drugs reaches 72% (although much of that is due to the cost), but discontinuation due to adverse effects (nausea and other G.I. symptoms) is high. A large fraction of people who stop using these drugs regain most of the weight they lost. "Discontinuation typically leads to substantial regain (often 50–75% or more of lost weight within 1 year, approaching baseline within 1.5–2 years), along with reversal of cardiometabolic benefits." (Grok) Finally, a large fraction, up to 40%, of the lost weight on these drugs is lean mass (muscle, mainly), not body fat, which is not good. To be fair, this may not be due to the drugs themselves, and may be similar to the effects of crash dieting with low protein intake and no resistance exercise. What is to be done? Beats me. But true health is not to be found in a drug, IMO.