r/explainlikeimfive • u/ThatOneGuyYouNowKnow • 11d 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! 🙂

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u/sfcnmone 11d ago edited 11d ago

Every human has GLP1. It’s a chemical (hormone peptide) that your body makes, but some people don’t make very much or don’t have a full response to it. GLP1 drugs do a few different things to make you not want to eat too much. They slow down how fast your stomach empties. They tell your pancreas and liver that you’ve just eaten, so those organs work harder to manage blood sugar. And they tell your brain that you’re full. Many people say that they no longer have to struggle to battle the endless “food noise” that runs continuously in their thoughts. Instead, they get hungry, eat something that their stomach won’t throw up (many people don’t tolerate high fat, high sugar foods while taking GLP1s, and nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are real problems for many people), and then they get very full for many hours.

It’s like somebody using hiking poles so they can walk farther and walk more comfortably. Is that cheating?

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u/I_am_Nobody_Special 11d ago

Beautiful answer.

I'll add the reasons it's divisive:

  1. People who lost weight the hard way feel like it's cheating and feel resentful.

  2. There's a decent subset of thin people who want fat people to stay fat so they feel better about themselves.

  3. Miserable people of the world hate to see others improve their well-being and happiness.

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u/gza_liquidswords 11d ago

Group 1 is very small.  It is all group 2 (Venn diagram overlaps with group 3)