Why note this? That is because what this evidence makes very clear is what I have been suggesting on this blog for a while, and that is that the purpose of these drugs is not to solve the problem of obesity. It is instead intended to create a new form of dependency, or even addiction. In this case, this dependency is on the weight loss drugs that the person becomes totally reliant upon to maintain their body image, and so their mental health, whatever the physical health side effects might be (and they can be serious, with significant potential long-term costs to the NHS).
Merely curing a problem isn’t enough, d’ye see? The patient must both suffer and become more moral….
Same as the opposition to vapes.
They bleat about the problem of smoking, and say people must give up. Then the market comes up with a relatively easy way to give up, and they bleat about that.
I think you’re right, they see a moral virtue in suffering.
I smoke because I like smoking. Not sure why anybody wants to encourage me to live to 100 and cost Our NHS a lot more money (unless they bump me off for being a psych patient).
The weight loss drugs give me the willies tho, Tim. People look less fat on them, but they don’t look well. Have you noticed Ozempic Face?
It’s like a gypsy curse: “Thinner…”
TW is consistently much too credulous with respect to the benefits-disbenefits trade-offs associated with prescription / controlled drugs and treatments.
I think you’re right, they see a moral virtue in suffering.
And/or they refuse to believe that anything good can come from capitalism and free markets.
I wonder if he’s tried it and it didn’t work. It’s usually all about him.
Late posting on the cretin today I see Tim.
He’s like a demented Oliver Cromwell for the 2020s with half the brain. Just batshit.
Have you seen his post on Plaid Cymru? – it’s arguably one of the most nauseating things I have ever read – dire even by his subterranean standards.
Presuming time permits will be posting on his ‘Clean energy’ post in due course..
Was travelling from 6 am to 4 pm….
So who prescribes this shit? Doctors working for the NHS I presume. Is Murphy suggesting that doctors are bought-and-paid-for and the NHS is a shambles? If so I finally agree with him about something.
@Steve
Fat people who drastically lose a lot of weight (many stones, tens of kg) end up with a lot of excess skin, which tends to make them look a bit like a bloodhound. You can remove some of the worst effects with cosmetic surgery (the standard ‘tucks’).
People mistakenly assume drug companies, and doctors, are interested in curing disease. They’re not – what they what is a captive group continuing to consume their inadequately-tested drugs. (Any actual cure would be suppressed – there’s no money in that.)
Fat-reduction drugs are like this. It’s very easy to lose weight by proper diet, but the mainstream promote ways which do not work in order to keep their captive consumers. Do your own research, e.g., read “Eat Rich, Live Long”
@ Ed P
The worst single factor in the American FDA is that it takes too long to test drugs – *far more than adequately* – people suffer and die when there was a drug that was safe and would have cured them and/or relieved their pain.
Inadequate testing of pharmaceuticals is not a major problem – unlike the inadequacy of NHS Management
“It’s very easy to lose weight by proper diet, but the mainstream promote ways which do not work in order to keep their captive consumers.”
[citation needed]
Pharmaceutical companies make drugs that suppress appetite. All else is intrigue.
Chris – it does look like abnormally fast subcutaneous fat loss around the face imo. Normally (?) in weight loss, it’s more gradual and their skin has more time to use whatever elasticity it still has. The people I’ve seen on Ozempic look a little haggard and grey, not the healthy youthful glow people get from better diet, exercise and sleep.
Also, is it just me or is the face usually the last area you lose fat? The cycle of Dad Bod is => BELLY’S GONNA GET YOU, then a bit of excess fat around the man pecs, then a jollier face. (Then an XXXL Hawaiian shirt, then diabeetus.)
These Ozempic medalists want to be careful, to be honest I’ve never seen any problem romping in the hay with giggling larger lasses with strong legs. And fat girls need love too, never doubt it. I just think that men are less sexually attracted to women who resemble Willem Dafoe.
Edward Plantagenet – People mistakenly assume drug companies, and doctors, are interested in curing disease. They’re not – what they what is a captive group continuing to consume their inadequately-tested drugs.
To be fair to them, though perhaps some opinions may differ, the pharma companies save my life on a daily basis. God bless those Indian generic pharmaceutical factory employees.
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
VP – Richard says For those who are not familiar with her, Liz Saville Roberts is a very experienced politician and the leader of Plaid Cymru in the House of Commons:
I had no idea. Read her wiki bio and she seems an unremarkable woman who really should be hoovering or playing with the grandchildren instead of being a professional Silly Woman who says “but UwU the poor widdle migwants 🙁 “ We’re starting to live in the Children of Men timeline and this daft moo is worried about… Jafar, the fourth best rapist in his delightfully unpronounceable native village where they slice off female clitorii for a laugh, who arrived here looking for a free flat in exchange for his sob story.
Seems reasonable.
Moral scolds need EXACT obedience, not merely effective obedience. We must worship them, not parse their words.
That’s why vaping is sooooo bad, that’s why Ozempic is evil.
I think you’re right, they see a moral virtue in other people suffering.
FTFY
@RichardT, drcardno
Yeah, typical puritans.
I have a joyless existence therefore I am morally superior. Others should be forced into misery in order to validate my feelings. What’s a purity spiral?
It’s very easy to lose weight
That must be why almost no-one is overweight.
People lose weight, some of it comes off the face, that’s it. “Ozempic face” is a invention of the bullshit press, whose ‘health’ pages are devoted to the promotion of snake oil diets and treatments for obesity (and many other things). People in the snake oil industry are obviously threatened by a therapy which is proven to work so have ramped up their PR.
It also seems that post-covid derangement has addled some normally sensible people, who now rant about ‘big pharma’ like a dimwit Guardianista. These drugs were not rushed out and forced on people, like the covid vaccines. They were in development for years and subject to all the usual approvals.
These drugs are big news because they work. We should be applauding science, capitalism and free markets for delivering such wonders.
Marius @ 5.58, I lost faith in ‘big pharma’ after watching Dr. Ben Goldacre on YouTube about 15 years ago.
Then covid came along……..
Oh, and the BBC documentary ‘Guinea Pig Kids’, also on YouTube, shows this type of thing has been going on at least since the 1970’s…….
It’s quite true: it is very easy to lost weight by eating a proper diet. Inevitable, in fact. No suffering involved. The problem is that people won’t change their diet, continuing instead to eat their ultra-processed food (I know, I know) and expecting their doctor to prescribe a pill. So here we are.
What’s a purity spiral?
Presumably a form of chastity belt.
@Matt – May 16, 2025 at 5:22 am
Yeah, typical puritans.
I can’t remember who voiced the following… Puritans were strongly against bear-baiting. Not because it gave pain and distress to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators.
I find it quite creepy how frequently a discussion about people’s health and wellbeing eventually gets around to how much it will cost the NFHS. “We could’ve saved her, guv, but we’re just about at budget already & the coffee machine needs replacement, the steamed milk isn’t hot enough.”
Marius – . “Ozempic face” is a invention of the bullshit press,
Oi don’t fink so, have you seen them irl? I know a few girls on Ozempic in the office.
This is a Chubbomodor. 🙁
Well Esteban, there was a good news story on my local BBC this morning about a boy suffering from a rare disease (can’t remember the name) being given access to a drug on the NHS. Cost is £500,000 a year and the efficacy of it (whether it slows, stops or improves the condition) has still not been proven. Obviously the boys’ mum was over the moon, but my first thought was ‘how many other people could be treated for that £500k’?
I thought the NHS ran along the lines of ‘if it’s over £30,000 a QUALY (quality adjusted life year), we ain’t paying for it’.
Tim adds: And if it’s £500k for a one shot, one time, treatment that buys 50 years of life then that barrier is passed. This is somehting that is happening, right now, “gene treatments” that actually do this.
“Only a jerk would insist on picking up the check, then complain about the cost.”
That’s GC’s dig on NHS.
“It’s quite true: it is very easy to lost weight by eating a proper diet.”
Even easier: don’t eat anything.
I thought the NHS ran along the lines of ‘if it’s over £30,000 a QUALY (quality adjusted life year), we ain’t paying for it’.
NICE does, but a child who could be completely cured by a course of treatment might have 70 QALYs in them, so if there’s a 50:50 chance it could be ‘worth’ spending £1 million.. I can’t imagine the NHS spending £500,000 a year in perpetuity on treating a single individual.
Tim, I just remembered it is Batten(s) disease that the child is suffering from, which at the moment has no cure. The £500,000 was the cost of treatment per year…….
“Most children diagnosed with Batten disease survive until early adulthood. Your child’s outlook varies based on the disease type and severity. For example, infants and young children usually have a five-to-six-year survival rate after symptoms begin. If your child develops symptoms around age 10, they may live into their early 20s. The earlier symptoms appear, the shorter the lifespan”.
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