These new drugs to treat obesity are both amazing and dystopian. They work very well and nothing short of stomach bypass operations comes close. I've seen amazing results and it has given people who have struggled for years new hope.

And yet. The medications are exceedingly expensive $1,200 a month. Studies show that when you stop the medication, most of the weight comes back. Are we committing people to lifelong injections at this cost? The people who are getting these medications have the advantage or insurance or money--an at least above average social circumstance.

We could decrease obesity by improving public infrastructure, diets, education and income inequality. These factors matter. That would come at a cost of trillions and would take decades. Or we can have Pharma fix obesity on the back end. You can see how this increases disparity. I was wondering what is the culture of obesity America? Is it to not really care about underlying causes and fix it with groundbreaking science and expensive medications? Maybe. I think these medications are truly game changing but let's see what happens to in the long term and who has access to it in ten years.

I've lost close to 80 pounds on Mounjaro. As you said, this was after years of struggle.

During those years I averaged about 100 miles a week of cycling during the spring and summer. I did resistance training. I worked with personal trainers. I ate "clean," never drank sugary drinks, or ate fast food etc. (I happen to like fresh fruit and veggies and dislike red meat.)

In other words, I did all the things that people say I should be doing instead of taking a quick fix drug. I either lost weight and quickly gained it back at the first sign of an injury, job change, or other event that knocked me out of a tightly managed routine, or just stayed fat while I worked my ass off.

So, as far as I am concerned groundbreaking science has addressed the underlying cause. If I have to drop back to a maintenance dose (which I am about to do) to keep the weight off, so be it. People stay on blood pressure meds, statins, and many other drugs in order to address health problems. Why not for obesity? Maybe judging people for their lifestyles when they're overweight is wrong, similar to how judging them for psychological issues was in the past.

Many of those drugs were very expensive and the prices dropped. That should happen to these drugs too, especially if they come up with an oral version. Much of the cost comes from the injectors and the need to keep the medicines refrigerated.