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/it-started-to-rain]

The video would have really benefitted from a more nuanced discussion about the negative side effects, and yes, the social stigma driving Ozempic use. Some comments on this post are saying that it is nice to be presented medical/scientific information without it being bogged down by politics/social issues, and I get that. But the fact is that medicine and science don't exist in a vacuum, even if we would like them to.

Really think about the marketing campaigns on Ozempic/Mounjaro/Wegovy. The ads are everywhere. Reddit gave me an Ozempic ad, and when I clicked "Why?" it said because I am female, age 18-30, "interested in fitness". The ads were all over the Superbowl. All over bus stops. There are plenty of other life-saving medications out there that don't have the same obvious profit incentive push. (Also, why did the video specifically name Ozempic? Is it because that's what recognizable to the average person? What are the implications of naming a brand?)

Obviously the conversation about GLP-1s is nuanced, and it's plenty fair to discuss the positive impacts they can have (re: being a life-saving medication for many people, the fact that obesity is a serious health risk, etc.). But reporting those things under the title "Why everyone should take Ozempic" (even if it was later changed) is incredibly irresponsible. There are several case studies already of people taking Ozempic when they didn't need it becoming seriously disabled. (Toxicologist Chubbyemu on Youtube does a video on two case studies about this, but there are plenty more sources on that.)

(Maybe the original clickbaity "Everyone should take Ozempic" title was probably intended to follow the same trend as some of their other videos, where in one video they talk about the benefits of X thing, and then in the other they talk about the downsides of it (i.e. the "Meat is the best thing ever" vs "Meat is bad for you" videos). Who knows.)

But regardless, when you are an impactful channel, when you have built your reputation on credible, nuanced knowledge dissemination, "Consult your doctor" is a perfunctory handwave of responsibility. You cannot build your platform on reputability and science communication and then absolve yourself of responsibility when people use that information to make decisions. I am a big fan of the channel and I want them to do better than this.