Overweight?

August 19th, 2023| Topic: RaMbLeS | 0

Obesity costs this country about $200 billion a year wreaking havoc by means of diabetes and heart disease. But there seems to be hope. In the form of drugs that help folks lose weight—lots of weight.

These medications, originally developed to treat Type 2 diabetes, mimic a gut hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, that helps suppress appetite and makes people feel full sooner when eating. So they eat less. And—voila!—many of the deleterious effects of overeating are avoided. That means those on these drugs do not go on binges of eating. Nope! They feel full sooner; they don’t want to eat more! People who took the drug, Mounjaro, from Eli Lilly, in one study lost an average of up to 22.5% of their body weight.

And in another study, Novo Nordisk (the manufacturer of Wegovy) enrolled more than 17,600 adults aged 45 and older who had a history of cardiovascular disease such as a heart attack, and a body-mass index of at least 27 (= 177 lbs in a 5-foot, 8-inch person). Researchers found that the people who took Wegovy had 20% fewer heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular deaths, combined, than those who received a placebo in the study. Wow, that’s something!

Unfortunately, there were unintended consequences. No, not for the patients. But for companies whose bottom lines are closely tied to Americans overeating. Industries making medical devices like glucose-monitoring systems and sleep-apnea machines plunged in value. Some analysts are even starting to project that these medically-reduced cravings could curb demand for fast-food restaurants and packaged snacks. Gosh, even bariatric surgery for weight loss is affected. Intuitive Surgical, the maker of da Vinci robots used in bariatric surgery, warned investors last month that the drugs are starting to hurt demand.

Agreed Dr. Robert Kushner, professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine:

The more weight loss that is achievable with these meds, the more it’s probably going to encroach upon bariatric surgery.”

In fact, there may also be broader decline in sales for knee replacements, heart-failure machines, insulin pumps, etc. And don’t forget the dieting industry. What are they going to do? Well, WeightWatchers, for one, is acquiring a drug-prescribing business, perhaps in the hope of being able to dole out one of these magic drugs!

Not unsurprisingly, stocks of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are up, unsurprisingly, and their market caps are approaching $1 trillion.

In the Bible, eating is actually a good thing, particularly when engaged in communally by God’s people in an act of worship.

I will recount Your name to my kindred;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
You who fear Yahweh, praise Him;
all you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
stand in awe before Him, all you descendants of Israel.
For He has not despised,
and he has not detested, the affliction of the afflicted;
and He has not hidden His presence from him,
but when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
…
The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek Him will praise Yahweh.
May your heart live for always.
Psalm 22:22–24, 26

One day, such eating will be engaged in by the whole world!

For to Yahweh is the Kingdom;
and He rules over the nations.
They will eat and worship, all the prosperous of the earth .…
[Their] descendants will serve Him;
it will be recounted of the Lord to the [future] generation.
They will come and they will announce His righteousness.
Psalm 22:28–31

Eat, by all means. But not too much!

SOURCES: The New York Times