Over the last few years, the medical landscape has turned completely upside-down. With all the recent hype around GLP-1 agonists, we don’t need any more proof the world’s gone mad.

Semaglutides are effective for significant weight loss and may have other health benefits. Many great resources explain their effectiveness, so I won’t discuss them here. The main thing to know is they slow down the stomach’s digestion and curb appetite, which can result in weight loss. However, some people lose their appetite completely and stop eating. This is where I have a problem.

Losing your appetite is a serious side effect that can lead to severe consequences

• Significant weight loss in a short amount of time puts patients on the fast track to malnutrition. Fat cells don’t go away, they shrink. Unintended loss of lean muscle mass diminishes strength, stamina, and resting metabolic rate.
• Dehydration and constipation are major side effects of weight loss that need immediate attention.
• Gastroparesis which is claimed to be a rare side-effect of GLP-1 should be assessed by a health practitioner.
• Significant weight loss and meal restriction are associated with depression, anxiety, and disordered eating.

No one is immune to the pressures of the ideal body weight

I’m not pretending that I understand another person’s struggle with weight or health issues. As a female living in the US, I’d be lying if I said I never experienced negative thoughts like feeling bad about my body size, being unhappy about what I see in the mirror, or feeling guilty after eating certain foods. Conducting medical nutrition therapy sessions over the years has fine-tuned my ability to pick up on the hatred of fat in our society, and how people sell themselves short because of their body size. Let me tell you it’s no picnic to inform patients I don’t specialize in weight loss. The conversation often comes to an incredibly uncomfortable abrupt end. It’s an emotional hot button that’s impossible not to push.

The psychological perspective is always ignored

We all know there are consequences for our actions. The likelihood of maintaining a healthy weight decreases If you are clinically depressed and anxious. There’s no doubt in my mind that mental health issues affect normal eating patterns. So, chances are your weight will go up or it will go down. No matter the direction it won’t be healthy or sustainable if you don’t find a way to deal with reoccurring issues in your life that are holding you back. A healthy mind usually follows a healthy body. Usually. If someone spends most of their time dieting, there’s no way they feel good about themselves. That’s where the focus should be, not on body weight.

What adds to this is when well-intentioned friends, loved ones, and health practitioners validate a person’s bad feelings about themselves and comment on their weight. If you’re somebody who comments on other people’s weight stop it. It’s not helpful and you’re not earning points by doing it. It was once said that if shaming worked everyone would lose weight. Well, it doesn’t. So, knock it off. If people in larger bodies bother you, maybe you should find out why that is.

Are GLP-1 agonists the cure for obesity?

I don’t believe obesity is a disease the way social media preaches it. It’s way too complicated for medication to “make it go away.” As I see it the medical profession continues to ask people in larger bodies to sacrifice way more than thin people to be healthy. As much as it’s proclaimed that side effects are not the norm for most people, it isn’t comforting to those who’ve taken the drug and experienced gastroparesis gotten so bad they couldn’t get through the day without vomiting to the point of severe dehydration. For them, the “rare side-effects” have made a huge impact on their lives. Either way, it’s a lot to expect from folks when there are so many other factors that cause ill health other than obesity.

It’s too early to know what the long-term efficacy will be

If you don’t have an eating disorder, there’s reason to believe you could develop one while taking semaglutides. Medically induced appetite suppression still leaves us with many questions. But what we do know is that severely restricting dietary intake and losing a significant amount of weight messes with the brain and creates an unhealthy obsession with food.

If you’re considering semaglutides for weight loss, you still need to make major lifestyle changes. It’s not a magic pill. You are still responsible for the outcome. An adequate diet and exercise will be necessary to get results. Don’t do it alone. There are plenty of great dietitians out there. Remember no one can predict how your weight will trend within your lifetime. You might need to take the drug for the rest of your life. With the recent shortages, you might not be able to take it the way it’s prescribed. Most importantly, think about how you might feel if your weight doesn’t trend the way you want it to. Semaglutides won’t do much for your mental health.

Increase your awareness by being a devil’s advocate

For every practitioner prescribing this drug, there’s a pharmaceutical company with an inexhaustible marketing budget earning record profits. Semaglutides are already in a nice comfortable space within the diet culture which has welcomed them with open arms. You can be sure there are plenty of weight loss companies vying for the extra dollars by adding them as a weight loss option.

As a consumer, you have the choice to take the wait-and-see approach. Dig your heels in. Don’t let the catchy jingle on the commercials or the celebrity weight loss stories give you false hope. Learn about every side-effect and don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions. In the grand scheme of things, you are the strongest advocate for your health and well-being. No one knows more about what you need than you do.

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