The Science of Fasting
My point is that too many people are taking it for weight loss - not because they have a legitimate medical condition. No offense but it seems like your wife is no exception and science and logic tell me that if she had made significant lifestyle changes (cut back on drinking and choosing high quality foods and exercised) she would have had normal blood sugar levels in lieu of the high-normal she was experiencing.
Obesity is of course an issue in this country. Most people live on ultra processed foods and sugar. Animals that are used for meat are pumped full of hormones. Fruits and veggies have pesticides sprayed all over them. There are food deserts and lack of education on what healthy food actually is and we live in a society that is built around a very sedentary lifestyle.
Ultimately though, even with proper education around food and access to better quality foods, Americans are lazy af and refuse to make necessary lifestyle changes that got them in the predicament they are in. They reach for something easy so as not to interrupt their unhealthy ways. Like oh this injection will allow me to lose weight while continuing to eat like crap; just less amounts of it and keep up my alcohol consumption - which is concerning because as I mentioned, we still don't know long term side effects in people who do not have a metabolic condition that requires the medication.
Plus, you either stay on it permanently or have to make significant lifestyle changes - which I haven't seen the data and even if I did, I wouldn't believe it - most people aren't willing to do which is why they are on the med for weight loss in the first place. The reason I wouldn't believe the data is because it's self-reported and everyone I know who isn't a diabetic that is on this crap won't even be honest now about why they aren't losing weight; i.e. refusing to give up eating out several times per week, refusing to cut back significantly in their drinking and increasing movement and exercise.
Most people who are on it, aren't eating enough protein and ensuring they are lifting weights to maintain muscle mass and muscle accounts for a LOT of the weight they are losing and that's not good - particularly for aging women. Drinking and Ozempic are not separate issues when your chief complaint is that you 'can't lose weight' yet fail to correlate the caloric intake from your heavy alcohol consumption as a major contributing factor to why you can't lose weight.
I also get sick of hearing from fat people that they "can't control their appetite" .... news flash! Not eating whatever the fork you want is hard for everybody who isn't blessed with a phenomenal metabolism. It's called self-discipline. It's not easy for anyone.
The people I know who are on it that aren't diabetic (I know 5 people currently on it), not a single one had more than 10 lbs to lose. Like 2 of them could lose 5lbs and still be okay before looking like they have an eating disorder (though one of them already looks that way)
Sorry for the tangent but the way this country peddles drugs to people without addressing the underlying issues AND requiring real lifestyle changes before ordering up some ish they don't need is out of control and why 80% of citizens in this shirt hole country are so sick.
Has anyone ever asked themselves why Ozempic (manufactured by Novo Nordisk - a Danish company) is not available to people in Denmark who don't have diabetes? Or why it's not being pushed as a first treatment option in those who do have diabetes?
There's a reason drug manufacturers seek to get their treatments approved in the US over other countries. Diversity in population and because the FDA can be bought and the people will take anything thrown at them.
I don't really disagree with any of these points.
I just don't think taking it only for weight loss is a net bad thing. I do agree it's not a "best practice" and that lifestyle and diet changes are best.
However, obesity is a mofo, most people I know taking it also changed some behaviors. The weight loss makes it easier to be more active. The confidence the people I know that took it gained by seeing the first 5-10 pounds come off helped encourage then to eat healthier and exercise more.
Taking ozempic specifically for weight loss and improving your diet and increasing exercise is not mutually exclusive, and improvements in diet and exercise do not have to be all or nothing.
Circling back, I think the larger issue is the alcohol dependence.
I'm no fan of the pharmaceutical industry, and I agree with your overall view of American medicine is just basically a pill mill treating symptoms, but obesity itself causes significant medical issue, and I don't fault anyone taking ozempic for the sole purpose of weightloss, even if it is more for vanity than for health, because in the end, if they are less obese, they are healthier for it.
Now you say:
"I also get sick of hearing from fat people that they "can't control their appetite" .... news flash! Not eating whatever the fork you want is hard for everybody who isn't blessed with a phenomenal metabolism. It's called self-discipline. It's not easy for anyone."
and I am all for personal accountability, but this just isn't true. Appetite is controlled by a hormone called Ghrelin and regulated by a hormone called Leptin. People have different biochemistries and people's bodies produce hormones in a spectrum. Both Genetics and environmental factors play a role in hormone production.
Some people are pre-disposed to Hypothyroidism, some Hyperthyroidism, but appetites are absolutely not equal. Some people are literally fat because they can't control their appetite, they may not produce enough Lectin and have Hypothyroidism, they may have Hyperthyroidism and produce too much Ghrelin.
Now I will acknowledge that many americans are indeed fat because of lifestyle choices, nutritionally ignorance, and a lack of self-discipline, but people not being able to control their appetite is legitimately a medical thing, so I try to be cautious of fat-shaming people, even if it's only in my head.