PSYCHOSCAPES: The world and I are getting fatter

Getting down to the bone

Over the past few months, I have lost more than 15 pounds, not due to illness but by choice. No, I’m not taking one of those new anti-obesity pills like Ozempic.

I only needed to make one change because I already exercise and eat a healthy diet of unprocessed foods, mostly organic, with little meat. All I had to do was cut back to one small portion at mealtime—absolutely no snacks in between. I’ve even been able to continue drinking a couple of craft beers every day. The secret is: no cheating. I learned that cardinal rule 25 years ago when I quit smoking, the hardest thing I ever did.

I’m sadly aware of what will probably happen… Three or four times throughout my life, I have made similar efforts to lose weight. Each time, I was successful in shedding 10 or 15 pounds. However, over time, my iron will melted and within a year, I had gained back the weight I had lost.

Of course, overeating is not just my problem – it is a worldwide epidemic, and getting worse, as the Guardian has warned: "464 million people aged between 10 and 24 [are] predicted to be obese or overweight by 2030 – 143 million more than in 2015.”^⁠1

Two disclaimers before I proceed: It is not my intention to shame folks who weigh a certain amount. I’m aware people come in a wide variety of body types, from ultra-skinny to extra-wide, and that cultural norms vary significantly in terms of what is considered attractive.

I’m also not a fan of the media’s current obsession with health and wellness, which I think has gone off the rails. For me, nearing 80, I need to lose weight because of my medical conditions, not because of chattering advice on social media.

However, every so often, a new medical procedure or drug emerges that challenges our understanding of weight loss — and this is one of those times. A new class of alleged wonder drugs has recently been approved, making weight loss appear easy. Still, doctors remain divided on the subject.

It’s not a slam dunk.

On one corner, Tony Goldstone, a leading endocrinologist, argues there is no moral component to obesity, no “get a grip on yourself” solution. “If you’re slim, it’s because you won the genetic lottery, and if you struggle with obesity, it’s because you didn’t. A drug that brings down your weight by as much as 25% is a miracle.”^⁠2

On the other side are scientists like Professor Christina Vogel, whose research shows that for many, it is a “sheer impossibility” to eat well due to “a combination of economic inequalities and poor-quality, high-sugar food, mass produced and robustly defended by overweening corporate interests.” She argues that creating a new class of drugs like Ozempic sidesteps the root cause of poor health.

I’m on the side of Professor Vogel on this one.

These new drugs, while enriching pharmaceutical companies, come at a high cost, not only to our pocketbooks but perhaps to our health. The long-term effects of weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic are unknown.

Folks from my generation recall Thalidomide, the widely used drug prescribed for nausea in pregnant women during the 1950s and early 1960s that turned out to cause severe birth defects in thousands of children. Just today, in breaking news as I write this piece, ABC News has revealed animal studies indicating that these new weight loss drugs may cause birth defects. [https://abcnews.go.com/Health/uk-warning-weight-loss-drugs-effect-birth-control/story?id=122527179]

Is this deja vu all over again?

Even if these drugs are proven safe, they are like an addiction because they must be taken for life. However, a recent JAMA analysis found that a vast majority of patients stop taking these drugs within two years and regain most of the weight they had lost within one year.

The real solution is government intervention: not to dictate what we should eat, but to educate the consumer. Most importantly, we must switch the food subsidies we currently give to highly processed foods to wholesome, natural foods instead.

As Johanna Ralston, the chief executive of the World Obesity Federation, has stated: “The rise in obesity and related diseases is not just a matter of individual choices – it’s the result of environments flooded with health-harming products including ultra-processed food… “Governments must act urgently to create healthier food and health systems.”

To give the devil his due, Robert Kennedy is right on this one.

xxx

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