Type two diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have become exceptionally popular for off label use for weight loss. While I admit that I don’t have the medical expertise or credentials to claim that you should or should not take these medications, I have a few personal opinions about these drugs -and the public health and societal factors that made them so popular in the first place). Of course, I think that if taking these medications helps you lose weight and that benefits your health, that’s great. Of course, only you can decide if the risk/benefit trade off of taking one of these medications is worth it to you.

First, some general information.

Stats and Statistics on Ozempic


Social effect
Rather than an individual problem, obesity is a public health epidemic. Nearly two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese in 2025, and that number has soared in recent generations. In fact, the obesity epidemic is relatively recent. In 1950, only about xxx percent of people were overweight or obese. So what happened that caused Americans waistlines to skyrocket, quite literally?

On the input side of things, people started eating more. In 1950, the average caloric intake for men and women was xxx respectively. Portion sizes at restaurants swelled tremendously, and Americans increasingly relied on processed and fast food to feed their families. Food companies spent x to market highly processed and sugar laden food to adults and children. Food companies also invested millions in making food more highly palatable and addictive, designed to overwhelm our brains and make our hunger and fullness signals go completely haywire. Additionally, American families increasingly relied on fast food because Americans had less leisure time than ever before (thanks to stagnant wages, two income families).

On the output side of things, Americans move less and burn fewer calories per day than ever before. Many tasks have been automated, but Americans also get much less lifestyle activity than generations past. In part, this is due to increased suburbanization and white flight from the cities. As multi use zoning fell to the wayside and Americans no longer could safely walk to school, work or the grocery store and instead had to rely on highway trsvrl, Americans got less overall lifestyle activity than ever before. Additionally, jobs became more and more sedentary as deindustrialization occurred and the new information economy era dawned.

Therefore, in the last seventy years, the obesity rate has xxx. Remember that obesity is caused by a long term imbalance between calories in and out.
Muscle loss
Shifting blame for obesity
Lifestyle factors
Reduced reliance on diet and exercise
What happens when you come off of them
Health risks both known and unknown
The pharmaceutical industry and our increasing medicalization of conditions
Those who disagree with weight loss drugs are said to be fat shamers focused on personal responsibility


One of my issues with these medications is that the