The article isn't just poor journalism, it crossed the line into soft propaganda for the weight loss drugs.
There is a lot of money riding on these drugs, and there is a story as to how we have got here. The drug companies that are marketing these weight loss drugs switched up their game after their previous cash cow, insulin, ran out of patent protection. Sure, they have got a new fix, but they care about their shareholders, not anyone's waistline. This does not make them evil, it is just business.
Standard practice for all drugs is to get them through the regulatory hoops for one thing, in this case diabetes (2) and then go off label, to get them prescribed for weight loss and now, fatty liver disease.
All of these conditions are one an the same, metabolic syndrome. So it does make sense to have these 'off label' uses, but you have got to respect the hustle.
If the article was properly researched then it would have outlined how that lifestyle interventions are preferable to prescription drugs, and that plenty of research papers have shown that Mediterranean and whole food, plant based diets (devoid of processed foods and animal products) have had some success at reversing fatty liver disease and enabling patients to obtain a healthy BMI.
I know some people throw a temper tantrum if a banana or a chickpea is placed on their plate, but the heart of the problem is lifestyle choices. Nobody is selected by a cruel roll of the dice to get metabolic syndrome, it is a lifestyle of car dependency, processed foods and saturated fats from animal products, probably washed down with fizzy drinks and alcohol.
Your mates that took Ozempic is anecdotal. Also anecdotal, everyone I know that follows Michael Pollan's advice to eat (mostly) plants has a healthy BMI.
> drug companies that are marketing these weight loss drugs switched up their game after their previous cash cow, insulin, ran out of patent protection
Are you disputing GLP-1's efficacy?
> If the article was properly researched then it would have outlined how that lifestyle interventions are preferable to prescription drugs
This would have struck me as CYA filler. We know diet and exercise work. Nobody reading Lancet is confused about that. And if they're reading The Guardian and are confused about that, they're not going to have the ephiphany halfway through a medical opinion.
> plenty of research papers have shown that Mediterranean and whole food, plant based diets (devoid of processed foods and animal products) have had some success at reversing fatty liver disease and enabling patients to obtain a healthy BMI
Compared to GLP-1?
I have a sore throat right now. I'm eating lots of ginger and garlic and foods rich in vitamin C and zinc. (Taken with hot teas.) If it were to progress into serious tonsillitis, I'd be pretty pissed off at the surgeon throwing a honey-lemon tea reference into their briefing.
> the heart of the problem is lifestyle choices. Nobody is selected by a cruel roll of the dice to get metabolic syndrome
Sure. Yes. If people made better decisions in the past we'd have fewer problems today.
In reality we have a lot of people who didn't make good decision in the past. Their bodies are failing. If GLP-1 works, it works. Getting conspiratorial about Big Pharma or butthurt that nobody mentioned feta cheese and hummus isn't useful for the targets of such an article, people thinking about the health of their loved ones as well as the arc of public policy.
There is a lot of money riding on these drugs, and there is a story as to how we have got here. The drug companies that are marketing these weight loss drugs switched up their game after their previous cash cow, insulin, ran out of patent protection. Sure, they have got a new fix, but they care about their shareholders, not anyone's waistline. This does not make them evil, it is just business.
Standard practice for all drugs is to get them through the regulatory hoops for one thing, in this case diabetes (2) and then go off label, to get them prescribed for weight loss and now, fatty liver disease.
All of these conditions are one an the same, metabolic syndrome. So it does make sense to have these 'off label' uses, but you have got to respect the hustle.
If the article was properly researched then it would have outlined how that lifestyle interventions are preferable to prescription drugs, and that plenty of research papers have shown that Mediterranean and whole food, plant based diets (devoid of processed foods and animal products) have had some success at reversing fatty liver disease and enabling patients to obtain a healthy BMI.
I know some people throw a temper tantrum if a banana or a chickpea is placed on their plate, but the heart of the problem is lifestyle choices. Nobody is selected by a cruel roll of the dice to get metabolic syndrome, it is a lifestyle of car dependency, processed foods and saturated fats from animal products, probably washed down with fizzy drinks and alcohol.
Your mates that took Ozempic is anecdotal. Also anecdotal, everyone I know that follows Michael Pollan's advice to eat (mostly) plants has a healthy BMI.