With news that Lizzo--the poster person for obesity--is slimming down, some wonder if the Fat Acceptance movement itself is in jeopardy. After all, no one has to be fat—sorry, “live with obesity”—any longer thanks to Big Pharma.
Cynics have joked the Fat Acceptance movement’s slogan has gone from “Say It Loud--I’m Fat and I’m Proud” to “Amazing Grace: I Once Was Fat And Now I’m Zepbound.”
Certainly, GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic are the first diet drugs to work after the Belviq, Meridia and Fen-Phen debacles. But is the final answer to overweight pharmaceutical and enriching an already too powerful industry?
Consider: Even if the price of GLP-1 agonists comes down, devotees who really care about the final “product” are likely to face expenses like plastic surgery for their sunken cheeks, drugs like Bimagrumab for related muscle loss and even plastic surgery for what is now being called Ozempic vulva (sorry ladies but true.)
And that’s in addition to the expense of staying on GLP-1s long term which is common to avoid the weight that returns upon discontinuation--along with more fat.
What about side affects like DVT, PE (blood clots), osteoporosis and fractures, suicide risks, blindness from Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION) eye disease, gallbladder disease, stomach paralysis, hair loss and even dental problems?
Do they mean the G in GLP-1 agonists stands for guinea pig as adverse effects surface on unsuspecting users? Not necessarily. GLP advocates remind us the drugs have been used by diabetics for 10 years and their use and what we know about them is not new.
More likely the parade of scary new side effects rolled out by news media in the past few weeks stems from the wrong parties now profiting from the drug craze: telehealth marketers and/or compounders getting a piece of the diet drug pie instead of the drugmakers who did the initial marketing. (Dammit)
When the original drugmakers were profiting from sales, GLP-1 agonists were said to benefit the CVS, kidney and liver function, menopause, lipids and BP and even lurking addictions to alcohol or drugs. Sure, the benefit claims came from clinical trials funded by their very manufacturers but the medical apparatus still sat up and saluted. It was a profit party…at least then.
A Different Kind of Victim
While some deride the eating habits, will power and “gluttony” of fat people, others say they are victims of genes, socioeconomic conditions, marginalization and living in food deserts. Still, the fact remains that at least two-thirds of Americans are now overweight as anyone walking down a US street can attest.
In addition to their own suffering, big and fat people raise everyone’s health care costs with accompanying risks of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, cancer and of course the need for joint replacements.
The truth is, fat people are less victims of their socioeconomic circumstances as victims of the junk food marketing that surrounds them: Ads for addictive junk food on their TVs, computers and phones, home deliveries brought in minutes on a whim and, of course, drive-through eateries. No craving is left unaddressed, thanks to Big Food.
Sure, the Covid pandemic increased sedentary lifestyles and decreased workouts but the current shocking bodies seen in the US today from “dormant glutes,” “gluteal amnesia,” “cellular expansion” and “gynoid fat distribution” correlate with junk food advertising, availability and ingredients not the Covid epidemic.
Fast and junk food correlations to obesity are why the UK has regulated and even banned fattening food marketing, something we hear little about. But, of course, US news is captured by drug ads which are not allowed in the UK.
Years ago, a radio ad in the Chicago area would cajole listeners to buy weight loss treatments and products because their obesity was “not their fault.” Popular radio personality Nate Clay would not buy it. “Of course it’s your fault,” he would say. “Who else made you go into the kitchen and open the refrigerator?”
The behavioral effects of TV are profound and subliminal: A municipal water system once was reported to experience low water pressure from the thousands of viewers who took a bathroom break during commercials and flushed at the same time.
As the weight loss drug infatuation (pun intended) continues, the Fat Acceptance movement seems a distant memory. Just look at the new silhouettes of public figures like Serena Williams, Oprah and Whoopi, formerly large people. Even Lizzo is jumping ship.
Still as the Wall Street weight loss drug flush continues and drugmakers are busy at developing additional drugs to treat GLP side effects, is our overweight really caused by a GLP-1 agonist deficiency? Really?
Brilliant as usual, Martha.
As someone who believes Big Pharma is greedy and abusive, but who also suffers from character deficiency, I have mixed feelings. Everyone certainly has it in their power to improve their life in numerous ways. However, isn't it a good thing to have any kind of help we can get from medications or societal and technical changes as long as they don't cause more harm than good.