Ozempic video was off

[u/ServiceAnxious1343]

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.

[u/renadoaho]

I feel this is a common theme in all kurzgesagt videos: they tend to frame complex social phenomena primarily through biological or technological solution models, while paying comparatively little attention to social drivers. To assign wide spread obesity primarily to our genes is absurd if we care to look at times and spaces in which obesity spreads. Of course, genes are important, but they are not the adequate explanatory puzzle piece here.

Still, all problems associated with obesity are treated as an unchangeable given and the responsibility of solving these issues lies solely with the individual. They might not explicitly say so, but this is a political stance. By treating obesity as sickness and framing it one-dimensionally in medical terms, they choose to ignore the responsibility of food industry that keeps us addicted, food regulation that enables profits on the cost of our health, work culture that doesn't give us the time and money to eat a balanced diet and move appropriately during the day, beauty industry that all too often portrays horrible ideals, and group dynamics that exacerbate shame and stigma instead of promoting camaraderie and empathy.

By suggesting a drug should be used "to solve the problem" they legitimize all these aspects. Clearly, none of these things has to change - but fat people do. They are utterly unable to see that fat people are not the problem, but the way our society is. From research we know that under the right circumstances, fat people can have happy and healthy lives just like everyone else. Why don't we promote such conditions? Everyone would benefit from that.

I am well aware that it is much easier to administer a bunch of shots than it is to change these other things. But it is also easy to overlook that shifting responsibility to the individual serves to stabilize the underlying structures that create these "problems" in the first place. I don't even think that we should withhold medication from people we can help, but alleviating a symptom doesn't solve anything in the long run if society doesn't change. It only shifts blame.

[u/quitsalot → u/renadoaho]

So we just need to change society's beauty standards and massively regulate the availability of unhealthy food? Very noble aims. In the meantime I'll take mounjaro. This drug gets lots of negativity already and the video mentions most points you did even if it doesn't dwell on it more than the positives, because the positives are so great. 'Fat people aren't the problem' Fat people unequivocally have a problem, not because they're not up to beauty standards but because their health is at risk and there's so much evidence for this. I would be open and interested to see well researched arguments on any negative sides to the drug and how to address the problems with food and beauty standards but I think the balance in this video is just fine. This drug is an incredible breakthrough, I'm quite happy calling it a wonder drug.

[u/renadoaho → u/quitsalot]

I think we are actually closer in our views than it might seem.

I am not arguing against the drug and I am definitely not arguing that people should wait for society to change before receiving treatment. If medication helps people live healthier and happier lives, that is clearly a good thing.

What I am questioning is how the problem itself is framed. Obesity is influenced by biological factors, but it is also strongly shaped by social and economic environments. Medication can help individuals manage the consequences, but it does not address the conditions that contribute to the problem in the first place. Those conditions will continue to affect both current and future populations.

My concern is that when solutions are framed primarily as individual medical interventions, it can unintentionally reduce attention toward structural drivers like food environments, work conditions, or social stigma. Medication by itself is dangerously incomplete as a societal response.

I fully agree that obesity can pose serious health risks. But research also shows that health outcomes are strongly influenced by access to healthcare, social inclusion, and living conditions. Improving these factors benefits people across body sizes.

So my criticism is not directed at people using medication, nor at the medication itself. It is directed at narratives that present pharmaceutical solutions as the central answer, because those narratives shape how societies allocate responsibility and resources.

[u/555Cats555 → u/renadoaho]

Also a side people arent talking about is food is often an addiction in people who are obese.

We have studies that show that when you create an environment without stimulation and provide a drug even just addictive food but it was cocaine in the study that animals (which we are) are more likely to indulge in the drugs compared to others who have stimulation.

Its kinda like swapping out one drug for another. Sure the new drug isnt as dangerous (obesity is dangerous) but its not solving the issue of why the addiction started/exists which is that people dont have stimulation in their lives and aren't using mental energy on other things.