Disclaimer: NOTHING THAT I SAY IS MEDICAL ADVICE. ANY BIOLOGICAL REASONING PRESENTED IS A GROSS OVERSIMPLIFICATION.
Recently opened the Tata 1mg app and was greeted with an advertorial banner:
Obesity is not a choice. Its a condition.
Or so the market NOW wants you to believe. CICO still holds: you retain the net calories you eat minus what you burn. Weight loss drugs want to plug the eating side - by reducing your appetite to binge.
The results, observed as of new, are phenomenal. Findings report not just weight loss, but also inculcation of healthy eating habits in many users. The long term verdict is still awaited - will these weight loss drugs finally be a panacea for diet related health issues?
But there is a narrative shift. Obesity is now not a choice. Its a blanket statement. As if your increased weight is something forced upon you by a higher power beyond our understanding.
The traditional means of dealing with obesity was to cut down on food intake, exercise more; be in a calorie deficit. This works for many people. Because their lifestyle is truly messed up. Sedentary life, over reliance on fast food and a lack of physical activity. But what we're now telling them, is that such a lifestyle isn't a choice they made. Its a condition they suffer from. And here's a magic pill that can cure their condition.
No shade, the magic pill is indeed almost magical. To begin with, GLP 1, a hormone (?) secreted when our stomach is full after eating, is what these pills provide. They signal your nervous system that your stomach is full, without you actually eating. Despite the simple mechanism, this apparently works great. Trials have had positive results. Market users have reported good progress. Where was GLP 1 found in nature? Saliva of Gila Monsters (a reptile). Kudos to whoever thought of analyzing the saliva of a reptile (I truly could never even go near a reptile, let alone think about analyzing stuff).
As much respect I have for science, the marketing aspect totally kills it for me. You can't label genuine carelessness as a "condition". Such dissolution of individual autonomy in personal life isn't sensible. When you binge on a pizza, you know you're binging. Shit didn't happen to you magically by a red demon's grace. You don't stop looking at the problematic areas in your culture because now there's a bandaid available.
And despite all, these drugs do work, which makes them all the more appealing. When seven of your friends get into their dream shape, thanks to a pill, why would you not want to? Then the advert sympathizes with your condition - it isn't your doing (!), don't blame yourself for your high BMI; don't be harsh on yourself; why force yourself to fight the "condition" alone? - GET YOUR PILLS TODAY!
Yes, there are eating disorders and they need to be cured like a disorder is supposed to be cured. Regardless, labelling wrong lifestyle choices as "disorder" or "condition" will not work out in the long run.
Many families presently do not cook food at home on regular basis. Bulk of diet is based on unhealthy food ordered from restaurants, fast food joints or takeaways. Whatever little cooking is done, is often reheating / frying frozen food. Worse, children are being forced into unhealthy junk food because their parents are too complacent to make healthy diet choices. If a 12 year old is overweight because of eating junk food five days a week, that's not a condition; it is gross negligence on part of his/her parents.
This is a cultural shift which marked the last decade in India. A sudden boom in reliance on mass marketed over processed food becoming an integral part of culture.
These are conscious choices individuals are making (and forcing). Hiding this behind label of a "condition" just to market weight loss drugs only normalizes the problematic behaviour - creating more patients, thus more users of these drugs. I repeat - this is not a condition. This is a calculated measure to ensure customers are lining up for these drugs.
Before we talk about conditions one gets themselves into, let's first be open to discussing (and criticizing) the choices an individual makes.
I still believe that many individuals do suffer from genuine disorders and new research into weight loss drugs is no less than a boon. My gripe with marketing does not extend to science itself.