The one thing Ozempic still can’t fix
GLP-1 drugs promised to usher in a new era of treating obesity as a disease. We could leave behind the anti-fat biases of the past, which blamed obesity on moral failing or personal weakness. Instead, these drugs would allow us to approach it as a medical condition, a complex matrix of genetics and other forces […]
While GLP-1 drugs hold immense clinical potential for treating obesity as a disease, they have yet to alter the broader US culture's perception and engagement with weight and weight loss. Despite millions of Americans shedding pounds in bulk for the first time, they are still contending with stigma and shaming, rather than being criticized for being overweight.
Social media communities around GLP-1s have witnessed awkward conversations and worse, as partners berate significant others who want to go on Wegovy or Zepbound, coworkers blame the drugs for rising insurance costs, and even doctors and nurses display dismissive attitudes. Some GLP-1 users feel like they are living behind enemy lines, often overhearing people judge those they believe are taking a "shortcut" to lose weight.
Erin Standen, a psychology professor at Rice University, notes that Americans have internalized the message that being overweight is a personal failure, and now that powerful weight-loss shots and pills are available, many struggle to see this as good news, perceiving it as cheating. GLP-1 users have found themselves in a trap, judged for years for their bodies and now for their methods of weight loss.
In a recent study by researchers at Rice University, UCLA, and the Mayo Clinic, participants rated hypothetical patients differently based on how they lost weight. Those who used GLP-1s were rated more negatively than those who lost weight through diet and exercise or didn't lose weight at all, indicating a deep-seated bias against GLP-1 users.
Written by urgent.news from Vox's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
