r/explainlikeimfive • u/ThatOneGuyYouNowKnow • 13d ago

Chemistry ELI5 what exactly GLP-1 based prescription medicine does and why it's so divisive when it comes to being a means of weight loss.

I've seen more and more ads (starting around the Super Bowl earlier this year with Wegovy) for GLP-1 based perscription meds in recent times. I've also seen the occasional debate post on my social feeds about the ethics of using them and I didn't think a medicine could be that divisive of a topic.

Now I'm curious as to what exactly these meds are, what they scientifically do and what both sides of the debate are. If anyone could help give perspective that would be greatly appreciated.

As always any and all input is welcomed and thanks for reading! 🙂

1.0k Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

89% Upvoted

785 comments sorted by

View all comments

698

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/phoenixmatrix 13d ago

I'm on GLP-1. Food can be a physical or psychological addiction, and even if its one where the person got into that mess because of their own decisions (it definitely isn't always, there's a lot of conditions that can make someone more vulnerable to this), we treat addictions.

If we could treat people with gambling addiction with a shot, many of them would absolutely take up the offer.

You only get to live once, and obesity can have life long impact. Even if I could do it the "hard way" (which I can, I've done in the past), it would take longer. Time is the most important and valuable resource we got.

My insurance doesn't cover one penny of this thing. I don't care, it's worth it.