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Introduction
I have been asked by readers and friends what I think of the GLP-1 drugs for obesity – commonly called ‘fat jabs’ in the media. This note shares my current thoughts. I’m open to my thoughts evolving as we learn more about these drugs.
I’ll start with some background notes. This is the first Monday note where I have used ChatGPT for some of the research. I will let you know whenever I do this. ChapGPT cautions that “ChatGPT can make mistakes.” I found it useful to summarise research for parts of this note. E.g. “How many people have died on GLP-1 drugs (with references)?” You will be able to replicate the search by entering the exact phrase I used.
For the scale of what we’re talking about, approximately 4% of Americans were taking GLP-1 drugs in 2024 for either overweight, obesity or type 2 diabetes (Ref 1). Approximately 12% of Americans have tried a GLP-1, even if unaffordable (Ref 2). According to an article in the UK Times newspaper, 1.5 million people in the UK are taking these drugs (Ref 3). The Times article expressed concern that most people in the UK are obtaining the drugs from private clinics rather than following a face-to-face meeting with a doctor. It would be easy to exaggerate one’s weight or co-morbidities to get online approval for these powerful medications.
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Zoe
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