I’m sitting in the lobby of the orthopedic doctor trying to mind my own business, but unable to help overhearing the conversation between what appear to be a middle-aged dad and his wife. Two young boys sit between them. Neither the man nor the woman appear to be of size, though the woman might possess a little more padding than the man. What are they talking about? From the words I catch, GLP-1s, how they help people lose weight, and how with “coaching,” ensure that people keep the weight off and stay "healthy." And here I sit, leaning toward the right side, trying to balance on my right butt cheek, so as to avoid pressure on my pelvis, where I have what x-rays shows as a fracture, what I believe to be a bone-stress injury due to overtraining and suboptimal fueling. I expect to be pretty grounded soon, doing a lot less exercise, and needing to eat a whole lot more so that my body will heal, so needless to say, this conversation does not sit well with me. Furthermore, I wonder what this conversation is doing to the two young boys sitting between this man and woman. They appear slight and thin, as many children are when they are active and still growing. One of the boys wears a yellow bracelet around his wrist. I assume it to be a hospital bracelet, and that the adults are here because of him, but who am I to know? What I do know is that the adults are not focused on the kids. They are focused on this conversation about weight loss, one I’d rather not be hearing, and one that, even though I don't know them, I’d rather these young boys not be hearing, either.
As I look around me on the world, I see lots of people with what appears to be “Ozempic face,” that tight, drawn look, that accompanies rapid weight loss (Cleveland Health Clinic, n.d.). I see people receiving attention and praise for their weight loss, and I wonder, “Are they really happy? Are they safe? Is this sustainable for them?" It's like these drugs are a status symbol. The wealthy, the really disciplined, the "good" people take these drugs, and the rest of people, well, they are somehow not good enough, sub-optimal.
I recognize that GLP-1 drugs have a purpose. I have family, and, I assume, friends, that I know benefit from them. In a world focused on external looks and obsessed with thinness, however, I don’t appreciate the spotlight or health halo that culture is giving these drugs (Pugh, 2024). It is making them less available to those people who really need them to treat their conditions, and leading to conversations like the one I overheard at the orthopedic office becoming commonplace.
What will become of our world as more and more people take GLP-1s? Will everyone feel the pressure to be skinny? Will sunken faces just become the norm? What about our children? What about people for whom these drugs don't work, leaving them swimming in an even greater sea of shame related to their body and health conditions? What about people like me, who need to fuel a lot in order to heal injuries, do sports, or just stay healthy? What will happen if these drugs somehow become unavailable? What if these drugs have horrific long term side effects about which we do not yet know?
Please hear me when I say I am not trying to be critical of people taking these drugs for legitimate medical reasons. I guess I just want to call into question the ubiquity of them, and ask people to do some critical thinking before hopping right on train to the injectable weight loss drug station. Weight loss is not for everyone. These drugs are not for everyone. Maybe let's keep discussions about prescription medication inside the doctor's examination rooms, and out of the waiting areas and other mainstream arenas of life. There is so much more to life than weight and body shape, and well, some of us are trying to push thoughts of weight out of our thoughts to focus on well, life, and the many things that living in a body means, regardless of the way that body appears, or weighs out on the scale.
References:
Cleveland Health Clinic. (n.d.). https://health.clevelandclinic.org/ozempic-face. 'Ozempic face': What it is and how to avoid it
Pugh, T. (2024, January 22). Everyone around me is losing weight. Terri Pugh. https://terripugh.com/Everyone-around-me-is-losing-weight/
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