zlacker

>>neom+(OP)
Other medications become lifelong medications but without this level of scrutiny. I am 100% in favor of finding a more permanent treatment, but switching blood pressure meds, and cholesterol meds, and other daily meds for a single once a week med is a massive improvement, especially since the all source mortality data keeps rolling in showing the efficacy here is orders of magnitude better than all the other medications out there. A constant issue here is that we keep calling this a 'weight loss drug' and society views being fat as a moral failing ant that you 'just don't have the will power' to overcome. We need to stop. If this is a lifelong drug it is worth it compared to the relatively ineffective, and just as lifelong, alternatives out there.

>>jmward+95
> society views being fat as a moral failing

This is just as weak as a counter argument. If every argument that concludes that lifestyle changes are necessary, in most situations and for most patients, are just written off as some sort of moral high ground and not necessarily something to take seriously, then what do we have left?

Is there seriously no functional difference between healing a broken bone and getting someone to stop smoking? The only problem is just that we haven't found the right medication for the latter? Evidence of necessary lifestyle changes as part of some moral crusade?

The science is pretty clear on the subject and it is up there as one of the most well studied in medicine. Yes, anyone can stop smoking and anyone can gain or loose weight. Yes, lifestyle changes are the most imporant factor in a treatment being successful.

>>xorcis+QC1
There's a common misunderstanding that medication and lifestyle changes are two separate things, and we should do one or the other, with medication being the "easy way" out.

No. The way GLP-1 drugs work is by lifestyle changes. People on GLP-1 agonists will, on average, eat smaller portions, are more inclined to eat healthier food, and will even exercise more.

If you take GLP-1s and don't do the lifestyle changes, they don't work. So are these drugs useless? No. They make the lifestyle changes more attainable. In your smoking example, it's similar. We have cessation drugs, I know because I've used them. No, they don't magically make you stop smoking. But they do make it easier.

We need to rewrite how we view these drugs. They don't take away your power, your strength. No, they help you find it. You had the strength all along, but these are tools to help you exercise it.