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1. blitza+(OP)[view] [source] 2026-01-12 13:09:06
Your friend circle in Germany probably doesn't have many members who were a proud big boned 5"7' 300lbs (~140kg).
replies(2): >>wongar+q3 >>Esopha+z7
2. wongar+q3[view] [source] 2026-01-12 13:25:29
>>blitza+(OP)
For good reason.

That'd be a BMI of 47. There isn't a lot of statistical data for such high BMIs, but [1] lists prevalence of BMI>40. In Germany 1.2% of men and 2.8% of women had a BMI over 40 in 2011, in the US it was 5.6% and 9.7% respectively in 2016. That's nearly four times as many as in Germany.

1: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7078951/

replies(3): >>tom_+Bw >>rootus+4d1 >>cthalu+AH2
3. Esopha+z7[view] [source] 2026-01-12 13:46:00
>>blitza+(OP)
In my (obviously anecdotal) experience, that’s not who the primary GLP1 user is.

It’s the suburban mom (or dad sometimes) who wants help losing a little weight. Instead of being 300lbs like your example, she’s 160lbs and wants to be 140lbs.

replies(3): >>elictr+mQ >>HDThor+mS >>cthalu+NH2
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4. tom_+Bw[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-12 15:44:23
>>wongar+q3
The US population (~350m) is about 4 times that of Germany (~85m)...
replies(1): >>wongar+WB
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5. wongar+WB[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-12 16:06:16
>>tom_+Bw
Which has to be a pure coincidence, since the reported numbers are relative to population size. We could conclude that there are 4x4=16 times as many people with such high BMIs in the US, but that is not that useful
replies(1): >>blitza+VS
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6. elictr+mQ[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-12 17:02:21
>>Esopha+z7
6’1” 230 wanting 210 without having a third bike injury for it. 40 doesn’t heal like 20, turn your head wrong and you are in pain for a month. It sucks.
replies(1): >>Esopha+9Z
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7. HDThor+mS[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-12 17:10:54
>>Esopha+z7
I really feel like this is just about the circle you are in. How many 300lb people do you know? 16% of the country is on GLP-1's as of mid 2024, Im sure its higher now. Every single massively overweight person I know has at least tried GLP-1s
replies(1): >>Esopha+MY
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8. blitza+VS[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-12 17:13:28
>>wongar+WB
Several studies conducted during the last 50 years have shown that lower intelligence is associated with a higher body mass index.
replies(1): >>rootus+ad1
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9. Esopha+MY[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-12 17:42:31
>>HDThor+mS
Yeah that could be - I don’t know many 300lb people well enough to talk about that.
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10. Esopha+9Z[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-12 17:44:33
>>elictr+mQ
I hear ya. Someone once told me there are 2 things no one can ever prepare you for: having kids and getting older.

I do want to get back into biking though. Haven’t ridden in a long time.

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11. rootus+4d1[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-12 18:53:17
>>wongar+q3
> In Germany 1.2% of men and 2.8% of women had a BMI over 40 in 2011

How does that compare to, say, Japan? Why is Germany so much fatter?

replies(1): >>daniel+Wt2
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12. rootus+ad1[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-12 18:53:51
>>blitza+VS
So this is why SE Asia is kicking the crap out of the US and Europe?
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13. daniel+Wt2[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-13 05:09:36
>>rootus+4d1
Worse food and less fat shaming.
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14. cthalu+AH2[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-13 07:55:00
>>wongar+q3
But prior to GLP-1s, obesity rates were growing rapidly in Germany. Doubled over 3 decades - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S15706...

Most of the industrialized west is following very similar growth curves here to the US. America just got their first. Even Asia isn't immune - Korea has been following similar trends, as have parts of southeast asia, etc.

I suspect the prevalence of GLP-1 class drugs will halt this trend before the rest of the world catches up, but without them or similar drugs, I would have bet that 50 years form now much of the rest of the world would look just like America

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15. cthalu+NH2[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-13 07:57:16
>>Esopha+z7
The morbidly obese people I know fall into two camps:

Those that still want to reduce their weight: All of them are on GLP-1s now (and losing weight!)

Those that had totally given up: They had long since stopped attempting anything to reduce their weight

I suspect that the larger you are, the more likely you are to fall into that second category - getting to 300+ lb involves a certain level of accepting defeat to begin with.

replies(1): >>Esopha+n74
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16. Esopha+n74[view] [source] [discussion] 2026-01-13 17:00:01
>>cthalu+NH2
Makes sense, I can see that. I guess in all transparency I don’t know many morbidly obese people well enough to know whether they’re on GLPs
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