New research suggests that weight-loss medications, known as GLP-1 agonists, may not only suppress appetite but also reduce addictive behaviors. A recent study of US veterans with diabetes found that those on these drugs had a significantly lower risk of drug overdose and related deaths – nearly halved compared to those not using them. This raises the possibility that these drugs could be repurposed for addiction treatment, given their impact on brain regions governing reward and cravings.
The current stigma surrounding weight loss is rooted in the false belief that it is a matter of willpower rather than biology. While GLP-1 agonists are expensive and have side effects, including a potential increased risk of vision loss, their effectiveness suggests that obesity is not simply a failure of self-discipline. The fact that one in eight Americans, and one in twenty people in the UK, have already taken a GLP-1 drug shows that people are seeking biological solutions to a serious health condition.
The moralizing around obesity contrasts sharply with how we view addiction. Once society accepted that addiction is a biological illness rather than a moral failing, treatments like methadone and suboxone became widely accepted. If GLP-1 drugs also prove effective in treating addiction, it is time to apply the same pragmatic approach to obesity. As Dr. David Kessler, former head of the US Food and Drug Administration, points out, obesity is fundamentally a matter of biology, not discipline.
The overlap with addiction treatment is instructive. If the drugs work on addiction, we should reflect on why there is such an aversion to their use for an illness with similarly dire health effects. Being truly healthy takes more than just a jab, but moralizing about treatment options does not address the underlying biology.
