I think the credibility of the argument that “it’s not easy to just lose weight” goes down when the contenders for solutions are “more pills” vs. “Lifestyle change”.
Its always better to try the non-pill option before deciding the pills are needed. American policies and support structures need massive overall. Even things that seem totally unrelated like more mixed use and walkable city Zoning policies will make Americans more active and less dependent on meds.
But just saying ‘lifestyle change’ as if it’s some simple thing is the problem. You wouldn’t tell a heroin addict to just stop taking heroin. A lot of people are addicted to eating (psychologically, not physically), which is why they feel hungry all the time. Just expecting them to change that like it isn’t an addiction is not the way to do it and trying to shame them into it is certainly not the way to do it. There has to be a way to get people to make those changes in a way that eases them out of the addiction. And, of course, like any other addiction, they have to want to change.
I think the credibility of the argument that “it’s not easy to just lose weight” goes down when the contenders for solutions are “more pills” vs. “Lifestyle change”.
Its always better to try the non-pill option before deciding the pills are needed. American policies and support structures need massive overall. Even things that seem totally unrelated like more mixed use and walkable city Zoning policies will make Americans more active and less dependent on meds.
But just saying ‘lifestyle change’ as if it’s some simple thing is the problem. You wouldn’t tell a heroin addict to just stop taking heroin. A lot of people are addicted to eating (psychologically, not physically), which is why they feel hungry all the time. Just expecting them to change that like it isn’t an addiction is not the way to do it and trying to shame them into it is certainly not the way to do it. There has to be a way to get people to make those changes in a way that eases them out of the addiction. And, of course, like any other addiction, they have to want to change.