Whenever there’s a heated debate in the health care world, my ears perk up. Recently, I’ve followed with great interest the wildly varying opinions about Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro—three massively popular drugs that are used to help people lose weight.
Some doctors say these drugs are life-saving remedies for the disease of obesity, which, according to top health officials, puts the millions of adults and kids who have it at risk of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. But other physicians and researchers see it differently. They think the line between obesity and health problems isn’t nearly as straight as most people think—and that many people don’t need to be treated for obesity at all.
Ozempic and its cohort didn’t start this debate. But by putting weight loss back into the spotlight, they’ve reignited long-simmering questions about what it truly means to be healthy.
