New drugs could spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic

New drugs could spell an end to the world’s obesity epidemic(economist.com)

5 points by adeimantus2001 3 years ago | 2 comments

adeimantus2001 3 years ago |

Curious to hear HN community's thoughts of the Economist's coverage of Ozempic and Wegovy, two The paper is optimistic about the public health prognosis while downplaying the enormous cost of the drug. They argue governments could purchase the drug for entire populations. IMHO this is a high-cost unproven solution that may not pan out as successful or cost-effective as a long-term effort to properly change eating habits in America and weed out the corruption brought on by the corn and soda lobbies, to name a few. I recommend the book Soda Politics by Dr. Marion Nestle to anyone seeking to understand the role of food lobbying in forming the modern American diet.

Japan is the prime example of a society that invests heavily in well-made, whole food for schoolchildren, establishing healthy dietary habits that last a lifetime. GLP-1 on a population-wide basis is a technocratic and dystopian solution to the scourge of overprocessed, superabundant junk food which permeates modern society.

Alex3917 3 years ago | |

These drugs seem like a fad. What't the point of maintaining a healthy weight when not only are you not going to be getting many (if not most) of the health benefits, but you're also going to be at risk for additional longterm health problems?

We need public policy that makes it less expensive to eat healthfully. The entry-level dietary costs of staying in the lowest risk category for cardiovascular diseases shouldn't be several thousand dollars per person per year.