Ozempic and Other Weight-Loss Drugs Are Sparking a Risky New War on Obesity [View all]

[Nevilledog]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ozempic-and-other-weight-loss-drugs-are-sparking-a-risky-new-war-on-obesity/

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https://archive.li/juagc

In 1998, Viagra received FDA approval. A financial bonanza followed for its manufacturer, Pfizer, and later for its competitors. Although initially approved—and marketed—specifically for erectile dysfunction, Pfizer and later competitors used aggressive targeted marketing to catapult the drug from an erectile dysfunction treatment to a lifestyle pill pocketed by nervous 30-year-olds heading out on Internet dates.

The erectile dysfunction drugs market was valued at $2.6 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach $5.1 billion by 2032 Huge numbers of men get the drug online, skipping time-consuming and costly in-person doctor visits but often getting counterfeit varieties, after receiving a token sign-off by a doctor with who-knows-what expertise whom they never see again. This is dangerous since it leaves the underlying cause of sexual dysfunction undiagnosed and untreated.

Another drug is experiencing a similar meteoric explosion—only the downfall could be far worse. The injectable drug semaglutide, better known by trade names like Wegovy and Ozempic, is going to create an ethical and financial maelstrom that will make the downsides of Viagra’s history, with huge numbers of men not treated for their diabetes or heart disease, pale in comparison. The drug, alongside a cache of similar weight-loss medications, has become immensely popular over the past few years—the demand revealing cost issues, dubious marketing, questionable online sales and failures to address underlying causes of disease.

As we all know, many Americans are dangerously fat. The U.S. is the most obese nation on the planet, with 42 percent of adults considered obese. Even more of us qualify as overweight.

*snip*