There are currently about three dozen different obesity drugs under development and three others that are vying for FDA approval. These are in addition to the many anti-obesity drugs that are either on the market now or have been tried in the past. None so far have proven satisfactory.
Anti-obesity drugs fall into both the “enhancement” and the “therapy” categories. They provide cosmetic benefits, just as plastic surgery does, as well as medical benefits.
The questions that arise for me are: what are the risks? And how will widespread use of these drugs influence society as a whole? Anti-obesity drugs in the past have been shown to have little benefit, and some have had considerable risks.
However, even if the new drugs are safer for the patient than the ones in the past, their use may pose risks to society. At the risk of sounding like Caplan in his argument regarding Ashley’s Treatment, I would advocate greater public awareness regarding healthy lifestyles over the use of medications. Even if the obesity drugs do work better than the ones in the past, they will not allow patients to become “healthy” without some effort on their own part to change their lifestyles. Thus, whether society condones the use of anti-obesity drugs or not, attitudes toward healthy living will have to change.
Another risk posed by the widespread use of obesity drugs involves potential “off-label” and abusive uses of the drugs. In a society such as that of the US today where “thinness” is idolized and obsession with weight and body image is rampant, I fear that demand for anti-obesity drugs will come not just from those who are obese but also from those who simply want to “lose a little weight.”
At this point, the anti-obesity drugs will cross the line from being “therapy” to being “enhancement” and the endless road to trying to achieve “perfection” will begin.
Related links:
"Medicine's Elusive Goal: A Safe Weight-Loss Drug." NYTimes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/business/17obesity.html?_r=1&ref=health
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2 comments:
In terms of fighting obesity, I would agree that we should look more towards public efforts addressing healthy eating, exercise, and living habits. After watching documentaries like Super Size Me, I can see how and why the obesity epidemic has overtaken the United States. It seems that we are causing our own problems by consuming thousands of calories of processed, low quality foods. We exercise less than most nations, see fast food restaurants everywhere we go, and are constantly encouraged to eat. These aspects are the root causes of obesity, and we should not “fix” them by providing a drug.
A drug for obesity ignores the main problem of our society—it provides a quick fix without digging deeper to find the true causes. Although it does provide a medical benefit to those that are morbidly obese or whose joints are suffering due to excess weight, obesity isn’t an incurable genetic disease that they have no control over. While it is true that some people naturally have slower metabolisms than others, if our country advocated exercise and promoted more fruit, vegetables, and healthier foods in general, even those with the slowest metabolisms would not become dangerously overweight.
Obesity drugs meant for curing obesity (not for making average people thin or thin people even thinner) do enter the realm of enhancement on their own by providing a shortcut to a healthier weight. With an obesity drug, no one would have to work to lose weight or become healthier. Their lifestyle or eating habits would not change, but they would just be fifty or a hundred pounds lighter. On the surface the problem is solved, but on the inside, cholesterol can still be high from too many cheeseburgers and diabetes will not be cured. As a country, we need to face our obesity epidemic and cure its main causes, not treat its symptoms.
I thought you brought up a great point regarding society’s knowledge of diet pills versus a better lifestyle. While I think that it is important to inform society, I am unsure of how effective it will be. There is a great deal of work to be done to improve the American society’s lifestyle in order to bring it up to the proper standards of a “healthy lifestyle”. Teenage girls only average 3.93 hours of exercise a week. They continue to eat junk food and live unhealthy life-styles because it would be too hard to make the adjustments. Approximately 20% of women age 19-20 use diet pills for weight loss. Most women see it as quick and effortless way out.
I do not think that “advocating greater public awareness regarding healthy lifestyles over the use of mediations” will actually solve the problem. People will choose to use the anti-obesity drugs regardless of their knowledge of a healthier lifestyle. Consider for a moment how young adults might react to anti-obesity drugs. Children are very impressionable and when they see anti-obesity drugs effectively doing their job they will latch onto the idea. A healthier lifestyle maybe the best way to go, but it will not appear that way to children who watch what others do more than what they say. This could have possibly detrimental affects on a society, working its way up from the younger end.
How could it possibly be ethical to have these anti-obesity drugs in existence? Would it not make more sense to stop production of these drugs altogether? If the anti-obesity drugs did not exist, it would not give over-weight individuals a second option to the healthier lifestyle. If obese people must really lose weight, then do so naturally and do not give the opportunity for bad situations to arise.
References:
http://www.1888pressrelease.com/demand-of-diet-pills-in-teen-s-survey-showed-more-teenagers-pr-e0106xh1r0.html
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