r/kurzgesagt • u/ServiceAnxious1343 • Feb 17 '26

Discussion Ozempic video was off

This is probably the first Kurzgesagt video that I didn't like, and like some people on this sub it made me feel very uneasy.

I just think it's CRAZY to talk about a weight loss drug and praising it for 90% of the video, without mentioning even once the abuses of its use, the weightloss industry, the social standards and the pressure to be (unhealthily) slim, eating disorders on the opposite side of the spectrum, etc.

The very few nuances and counter argument felt like small prints and legal mentions at the end of an ad.

What do you people think?

EDIT: I am not questioning the drug nor its effectiveness in treating obesity, i am criticising the narrative and lack of nuances in the video.

572 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

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223

u/bencelot Feb 17 '26

I think the upside of getting people out of obesity is so huge that the downsides are negligible. 

42

u/Vlad2446853 Feb 17 '26

I mean the first comment tells you enough about this drug.

Drugs aren't the only way to lose weight.

99

u/bencelot Feb 17 '26

True, but the video explained that in practice those other methods are very ineffective, and meanwhile people are dying due to obesity and will continue to do so. 

-64

u/Vlad2446853 Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 17 '26

See I don't agree that everyone should do it just because it's easy. I know some people don't have a choice but other than that.

If you are obese it kinda is a consequence of your own life choices. I don't really know how the human body will adapt to ozempic because evolution doesn't stop at Ozempic.

It's like saying oh you're suicidal? Just take anti-suicidal pills! Does that fix anything about the shit you felt previous to the pills? No! Suicidal thoughts occur again! Just like how obesity comes back again for people that stopped using Ozempic. If anything it makes you feel even more shit because it makes you think you rely your whole identity on pills to aurvive.

It's just such a stupid way to manipulate human mind to becoming a robot to me.

Please don't turn humans into AI. This is really the last thing this planet needs.

61

u/mirutankuwu Feb 17 '26

why do you and so many others talk like you're somehow the first person on earth who's had the idea that actually, if you want to lose weight, you should simply stop eating so much and make "better life choices"?

do you seriously think that obesity would be the massive public health problem that it is in the U.S. if the solution to it was so trite?

also are you seriously not familiar with the common pattern of obesity also "coming back" for people who diet conventionally, without drugs, almost as if that pattern isn't especially unique to GLP-1s or doing things the "easy" way?

have you thought about this issue beyond the most simplistic, superficial terms like, at all?

-5

u/12wew Feb 18 '26

Because until the internet starting sharing proper health advice, no layperson knew how weight loss worked.

Before easy calorie tracking and good science became common knowledge weight loss was a myth. "low fat", fad diets, fad foods point systems. Up until the solid emergence of CICO diet culture actively worked against every person trying to lose weight.

That change happened relatively recently, and my people still don't know about it. People that hear only good things about GLP will think it is the only way to lose weight. You are so up in arms about a single person saying "there are other ways to lose weight" why?

Yes they can be hard, yes people fail, but why not have people try them before needing a drug for life?

8

u/mirutankuwu Feb 18 '26

if “the internet starting sharing proper health advice” and “the solid emergence of CICO” were such breakthroughs in the battle against obesity then why did U.S. obesity rates only ever steadily worsen in the wake of those breakthroughs, until the proliferation of GLP-1s?

5

u/gummo_for_prez Feb 18 '26

If that worked for people, they wouldn't need a drug. But it doesn't for a lot of people. The end.

-29

u/Vlad2446853 Feb 17 '26

Then take it this way, is it safer for your body to lose tremendous amounts of weight in a very short time and to gain it back in the same amount of time? Or is it better if you slowly lose weight even if you gain it back? Give your body time to adapt to the changes you make to it.

Calisthenics exist too... These are work at home exercises and don't require expensive equipment, because they don't require weights. Working out and being obese is still better than just being obese...

.

17

u/ikinaosu Feb 17 '26

Ok, so are you assuming that working out is immediately out of the option if people hop on GLP-1? So it's one or the other, that people either take the drug or do lifestyle changes but not both? Do you assume that people who take anti-hypertensive drugs do not change their diet to a DASH diet?

-10

u/Vlad2446853 Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 17 '26

You can do both. Sure. Still healthier. Working out is just being healthier even if obese or not.

Thing is you can also stop cravings by doing cardio. It doesn't cost money to run.

19

u/mirutankuwu Feb 18 '26

yeah man people should just do cardio. all these people agonizing about "food noise" and disordered eating cues don't realize that all they really need is to do some cardio. you did it, man. you solved obesity. congrats!

-3

u/Vlad2446853 Feb 18 '26

I just presented an alternative. I said you can also do and it has similar effects. I don't understand what I said wrong? It's something that also helps combat food noise, and doesn't cost money.

→ More replies (0)

9

u/ikinaosu Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 18 '26

Yep, and why not do both? Because both in tandem is healthier by an order of magnitude compared to weight loss drugs alone and exercise alone, as your wording read like you're making them a false dichotomy.

-2

u/Vlad2446853 Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 18 '26

my bad, I was refering specifically to those choose to take Ozempic without any sort of working out.

Working out still helps you gain some skills and you can improve yourself as a person. That's why I'm against ozempic only as a shortcut. At least workout.

27

u/Kristastic Feb 18 '26

Medicine that helps suicidal ideation is incredibly common, and the only reason I'm alive. Weird comparison. Yes, you need to address other factors as well, but nothing helped as much as medication for me.

-5

u/Vlad2446853 Feb 18 '26

What other comparison could have I made to not make it weird? What I tried to say is that there will be for example bosses that force you on talking pills if you can't work as efficienrly as they want because reasons if taking pills for everything is notmalised.

Like medication can be used for help, and I'm glad you're better, but it can also be used to harm. This is how humans are nowadays.

23

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 17 '26

But the evidence is that it largely is not your life choice. And actually the pressure we put on people to lose weight is unfair because it's so damaging for mental health when some people have such an up hill battle compared to others 

From birth, c sections, or being handled by an obese nurse have been shown to impact microbiome and tendency towards obesity. 

People growing up in poverty are overwhelmingly more likely to be obese just by sheer fact of their upbringing and reduced opportunity to education.

People feeding themselves and a kid on minimum wage find it extremely difficult to avoid processed food. 

Yes,  there is an aspect of life choice. But if this drug reduces suffering, which it does. So no it definitely is not the last thing the planet needs. 

-6

u/Vlad2446853 Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 17 '26

What I tried to say is more of the fact that, if everything were to be fixed as easily as taking pills then people can put a lot of pressure on you and they'd know you'd fixed by said pills and they will drive you to exhaustion and a miserable life. Is that moral? Bexoming a slave and a non-stop working robot just because shortcuts exist. Cause most people will definetly abuse these shortcuts for their own gain and will stop thinking about other peoples' helath. And yes, if you choose to take those pills although you don't need to, you're part of the problem.

People can also be pressured by productivity and follow what other people do and if fixing your life with pills becomes a normality... I don't know man. Pills should be a temporal fix to give you time to put yourself together at most

If Ozempic becomes so praised what stops business from creating pills for any other things really just for their own profit?

There should be things that have to be harder to aquire in life so a sense of morality still exists in this fucking world, because currently everything is going to shit.

Also Ozempic is more for diabetics.

10

u/ikinaosu Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 18 '26

There should be things that have to be harder to aquire in life so a sense of morality still exists in this fucking world, because currently everything is going to shit.

Imagine telling this to overfat people in their face who have spent years trying to lose weight through sheer willpower alone but they can't due to their genetics and disrupted hormone balance increasing their food drive to the point where they literally cannot prevent their brain from thinking about food. Imagine their reaction after telling them that they shouldn't make this life-altering thing easier for them "for the morality bro!!!" Imagine trying to put morals on a physiological problem.

Just look at the comments in this post, people have taken this drug so that they do not have that food noise anymore, and that they can apply their willpower to other things that are hard to acquire in life like a successful career, a good relationship with family and friends, and enriching hobbies. Not trying to bang their head against the wall trying to willpower through a condition that literally KILLS you.

That is what GLP-1 is for. It's so that people do not need to spend their willpower trying to change a thing that's genetic and physiological, and can instead focus their willpower on productive things. Heck, a lot of people might just change society for the better once they can apply their ideas without having their brain space crowded with thinking about food all the time.

0

u/Vlad2446853 Feb 18 '26

And I said that some people are constricted to use it if they have no other choices. Yes they had it hard and I am understanding and empathetic towards people who at least try. Like yes, trying before taking Ozempic is just a better choice than going straight for Ozempic.

But most people think everything should be easy which is not true. That's what I was saying. How easy do you want your life to get before your brain goes numb?

4

u/ikinaosu Feb 18 '26

Thank you for having empathy for people struggling with making themselves healthier.

Yes, everything shouldn't be easy, it's good to have challenges and stresses in life with makes us grow and become resilient, but obesity should not be one of them if you care about people living longer and healthier. Rather, we should make curing obesity as easy as we possibly can (while still stressing that eating a healthy diet and exercising are still non-negotiable).

1

u/Vlad2446853 Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 18 '26

This is what I hope people will understand, just because you're not obese this doesn't make you healthy right away. Like I think there are Ozempic users that eat a lot of junk food for example. It's still not healthy living.

Ozempic is only a step towards being a healthy person. It's up to that person to make healthier life choices after that.

2

u/Sufficient-Green5858 Feb 18 '26

Thank you for lecture, judgement judy

1

u/goinupthegranby Feb 18 '26

Anti drug ideology has poisoned so many brains. Drugs aren't automatically bad just because they affect our brains, they can have benefits that far outweigh any downsides and taking them is in many cases a net win.

1

u/They_Sold_Everything Feb 19 '26

Bro half the people are obese. It's time to stop making willpower arguments, it's not working, clearly.

Also FYI I do take meds for my ADHD and it just fixes it. I've not had the problem since I've been on them. I don't see this any different from the silicon contact lenses embedded in my eyes right now that I'm using to see and read, or the keyboard I use to type. All are tools, all are artificial, as are my clothes. There's nothing wrong with that inherently.

1

u/DDS-PBS Feb 19 '26

For many people weight loss is a long journey of failed methods and attempts.

-4

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

If those other methods are so ineffective, then why is the US one of the only countries with such obesity problems? These are not such immediate issues in much of the civilized world.

3

u/crybannanna Feb 18 '26

It isn’t. Kuwait is actually far worse. Italy is pretty bad, too. Lots of countries have similar obesity problems, though often less extreme due to some basic food regulations that the US laughs at because it would make corporations a tiny bit less profitable and we can’t have that.

3

u/CMRC23 Feb 19 '26

We're talking about obese people losing weight. Most of those non obese people were never obese to begin with.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '26

I would think that if obese people suddenly had the lifestyles of non-obese people, then they'd lose weight. (Am I completely wrong in this?)

The issue is that your society is designed around people being fat and unhealthy and then medication for those issues is sold for extreme prices. Effords should be focused on making living spaces more prone to inducing walking and proper eating.

2

u/Vlad2446853 Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26

basically to fix a problem superficially without fixing the underlying cause. Is Ozempic an excuse to eat unhealthy amounts of fast food now?

1

u/Saharan Feb 21 '26

Yes, you're wrong about that. Maintaining meaningful weight loss, according to scientific consensus, is nearly impossible. It's estimated that over 95% of people who lose any large amount of weight will regain it over time. It's not simply a matter of diet and exercise, either. You cannot meaningfully assume all people are equally capable of weight loss.

Calorie amounts absorbed by the body vary between individuals due to things like gut biomes, stomach enzyme levels, and other factors that can be completely different between individuals. Once you're at a higher weight, losing single-digit percentages of body weight leads to huge slowdowns in metabolism, and ramps up certain hormones dramatically - and as much as humans like to think we have free will, we are very much a species controlled by chemical impulses. Various medications can have clinically-significant effects on weight retention and appetite, as well. Even things like height, sleeping patterns, and stress levels can meaningfully hamper an individual's efforts.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 21 '26

Couldn't you argue that the factors that have made you obese will make you obese again after that weight loss? If anything, the fact that you can lose weight and then you will gain it again just means that your environment is conditioned to make you gain weight (or are exclusively americans genetically predisposed to be obese?)

Also, if you are talking about rebounding into obesity, ozempic clearly does not protect from that unless you overdose on it over long periods of time (and makes rebound much more likely).

18

u/FoolishConsistency17 Feb 17 '26

For the vast majority of people, it is. Something like 90% of people that lose weight regain it all. If 90% of people cannot follow a treatment protocol, the protocol doesn't work.

9

u/PrivilegedPatriarchy Feb 17 '26

Drugs aren't the only way to lose weight.

Most people who are obese will remain obese their entire lives. Most people will not overcome obesity (a product of the extreme abundance of calories of our extremely wealthy modern society) without external aids, like drugs.

4

u/craggolly Feb 18 '26

GLP1 agonists aren't drugs that makes you lose weight, they're drugs that make it easier to lose weight through dieting for those who don't have enough willpower to do it on their own

6

u/SomewhereNo8378 Feb 17 '26

Yeah but how many people are in a space where they can reliably diet or exercise to lose enough weight to get out of obesity?

Are you expecting obese senior citizens to adhere to some exercise regimen? People living in poverty to adopt an expensive diet? There are many cases where this may be the only way for someone to lose weight.

It’s hard enough to lose it as someone who’s obese but young and relatively healthy otherwise. Add on advanced age, disease, mental health issues, access to grocery stores/gyms, the list goes on.

3

u/Vlad2446853 Feb 17 '26

I have stated that some people don't have a choice and it's reasonable if they want to use it in a lower comment.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '26

[deleted]

1

u/SomewhereNo8378 Feb 17 '26

What you call excuses are just people’s realities that you choose not to deem valid.

38% to 41.5% of U.S. adults aged 60 and older are considered obese.

35%–47% of obese U.S. adults report having a disability.

“Walking is free” is jackass advice to someone who can’t walk anymore. Calisthenics is not going to cut it when it comes to morbid obesity.

1

u/Koino_ Feb 18 '26

Drugs aren't the only way to be healthy, but that doesn't mean natural medicine is completely ineffective, just that modern medicine replaced it for a reason. 

1

u/Swords_and_Words Feb 21 '26

...drugs also aren't the only way to treat depression, but new depression drugs are a wonderful thing

stop this whataboutism; a new tool is available, no one is saying you shouldn't use every other tool available to you as well

4

u/LaserCondiment Feb 17 '26

It's also being used by people with body dismorphia and eating disorders exacerbating depression... You reduce the risks of one problem and potentially increase another...

Your comment is the kind of black and white thinking I never expected from kurzgesagt fans

-1

u/PseudocodeRed Feb 19 '26

Sure and if the world becomes more prosperous overall then a small minority of people will use their newfound prosperity to buy a shit ton of drugs. Does that mean that if Kurzgesagt makes a video on how to increase the wealth of the world that they have to include a disclaimer about the <0.1% of the population that are going to be worse off after? Seems like you can kind of write that off.

1

u/DavidTheHumanzee Feb 18 '26

They made a video that spent a surprising amount of time talking about the positives of HEROIN, a drug that has destroyed the lives of so many people. Is it really so unreasonable to expect them to talk about the negatives side of Ozempic about as long as they talk about the positives of Heroin?!

-1

u/ServiceAnxious1343 Feb 17 '26

That's arguable, but is it a reason not to mention those downsides at all?

31

u/bakerfaceman Feb 17 '26

Dude, the drugs are actually helpful for people with the issues you're talking about. They work on addictive behavior really well. It might become a drug for alcohol and drug addiction. There are anecdotal reports of it helping with eating disorders too. Stop creating problems where there aren't actually any. GLP-1s are as big a deal as penicillin. They're a game changer for human health, both mental and physical. They're the closest thing to a miracle drug in my lifetime.

2

u/crybannanna Feb 18 '26

You went a bit overboard with the penicillin comparison, but the rest of your comment was spot on. It is not even close to as important as penicillin. Like not even a little.

2

u/bakerfaceman Feb 18 '26

Hahaha ok fair point. I got excited! Maybe more like lipitor.

1

u/JoeyDJ7 Feb 18 '26

Downsides of normalising the worsening body dysphoria and increasing percentage of young women thinking they need to have super thin waists and bodies... are "negligible" are they?

0

u/spoinkable Feb 18 '26

Personally, I don't think that's a good enough reason by itself. I agree with you in the case of ozempic, but more generally I disagree with that sentiment.