'You found an easy way out': GLP users caught up in endless talk of shame

A study noted that these drugs can invite more judgement to the users than those who are not even attempting to lose weight.

With increasing scientific evidence around obesity as a metabolic disease, for some it continues to be a moral failing. As a result, it quickly gets translated into a societal stigma or a bias that has slowly perpetuated into healthcare, workplaces and other important areas of life.

It is not uncommon for obese people to be held solely accountable for the complex bodily changes happening inside them and how they are shaped by their unique biological imprint and environmental factors that constantly interact with them.

As per an article published in the Harvard Health Publishing, obesity is a complicated disease and cannot be limited to counting of calorie intake or out.

To add cherry to the cake, the coming in of weight loss drugs like GLP-1(Glucagon like peptide-1) in the market, the talk of shame has shifted to how obesity is being managed through shortcuts.

While earlier studies predicted the arrival of weight loss drugs could change people’s attitude towards obesity, making them believe that weight is more related to biology than willpower, their hopes seem to shatter because a vast majority has now labelled the treatment as an ‘easy way out’. 

A social twist

A research coming in from Rice University and published in the International Journal of Obesity stated that the social experience of weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy is not straightforward.

It noted that these drugs can invite more judgement to the users than those who are not even attempting to lose weight.

The study led by Erin Standen, professor in psychological sciences at Rice were taken aback by the extent of the stigma these drugs invited for the users.

In the social experiment, the researchers reiterated a fictional story of a character who is obese and trying to lose weight. Some participants were told that the person was consuming weight loss drugs to do the same, some were told the person was doing exercise and depending on a healthy diet and others were told the person wasn’t doing anything to lose extra pounds.

The findings suggested that most people had a negative attitude towards a person who was on a GLP drug than those who were shedding weight through traditional fitness methods like exercise or diet.

The results went ahead in showing that people viewed the person on GLP medication in a more negative light than those who even weren’t trying to lose weight at all.

Societal perception was also highly dependent on whether people lost weight through lifestyle changes or medications.

The researchers also found a stigma against weight regain once people got off these weight loss drugs. 

An unsaid cost 

As per experts, these social attitudes can influence how people seek care for health conditions, preventing them from taking timely intervention for conditions caused by obesity.

Negative attitudes towards people with obesity can push them further away from healthcare, said an article published in the Harvard Health Publishing.

The article stated that weight bias in the healthcare industry can enable tendencies like binge eating, reduced engagement with doctors, ill-effects on mental health, poorly managed chronic ailments and a lower quality of life.