New medicines could ensure that obesity will be eradicated in ten to twenty years. What consequences will that have?
Until recently, there seemed to be no cure for obesity. Most people were unable to eat less and exercise more, diets did not work and there were no safe and effective medications against obesity. The only thing that made people lose a lot of weight was stomach reduction. But now there are new medicines that do work. They are imitation hormones that ensure that the stomach stays full longer. They also affect the brain, so that people feel less hungry. As a result, they lose twenty to thirty kilos and that weight seems to stay off as long as they do take the drug. The world is going to change for obese people, with major consequences.
There are many protests against this way of losing weight. Some diabetes patients really need these imitation hormones to lower their blood sugar. They can’t gain weight now because everything is being bought up to lose weight. Instead, we should tackle the real problem and change our fattening environment. That sounds great and I’m all for it, but I’m afraid it won’t happen; our government has not even introduced a sugar tax on soft drinks. The side effects of the imitation hormones such as vomiting and diarrhea are also often mentioned as objections. But this usually passes within a few weeks and more serious side effects have so far been rare. In contrast to these side effects, losing weight leads to: fewer heart attacks and strokes and probably to less cancer.
A heavy burden
There will undoubtedly be harmful side effects of these drugs, but that will not stop obese people from obtaining them at all costs. Being fat is literally and figuratively a heavy burden. Obesity not only causes physical complaints but also has far-reaching social consequences; it can cut off the way to friendship, love, sex and to a job. A research from an American surgeon illustrated how bad it is to be extremely obese. He asked patients who had permanently lost more than fifty kilos after a stomach reduction how they would feel about regaining their old weight. Given the choice, they all said they would rather go deaf or be covered in pimples. Some would even rather go blind or miss a leg.
It is therefore no wonder that the number of gastric reduction operations is increasing rises. Patients lose about thirty kilos, but the procedure carries risks and can cause unpleasant side effects for years to come. The situation is similar to that of patients who survived a heart attack forty years ago. Doctors had little to offer them except intestinal surgery, which dramatically reduced the bad LDL cholesterol in their blood and thus the risk of an infarction. Then came the statin tablets, which reduced the risk of a heart attack at least as much, and then of course no one wanted such an intestinal operation anymore.
Retrain to become a plastic surgeon
Gastric reduction will follow the same path. The new resources are still too expensive; A gastric reduction costs ten thousand euros once, for the imitation hormones this costs every few years lost. Within ten years expired However, with the first patents, the price drops and the number of stomach reductions decreases drastically. Perhaps these surgeons can then be retrained as plastic surgeons. When someone loses thirty kilos, there are patches of stretched skin on their stomach, thighs, arms and breasts. Plastic surgeons can tighten that again. Other specialists will also have to switch specialties. The number of patients with diabetes will decrease dramatically, cardiovascular disease will decrease, fatty liver disease, cancer and kidney disease will decrease and fewer artificial knees will need to be fitted.
Companies will also notice it when the obesity epidemic comes to an end. The stock prices of manufacturers of diabetes aids such as insulin pumps already fell this summer considerably down. The prospects for manufacturers of apnea devices are also poor. Quite a few obese people are occasionally unable to breathe at night because of their airway closes. An apnea device helps against this by blowing air into the nose during sleep. Philips is big on that, but they would be better off phasing out that business, regardless of the trouble they are already having with it.
The market for slimming books and diets is also going to shrink. How is it possible that the WeightWatchers stock price is rising? That’s because they a way have found to sell their customers the new obesity drugs without consulting their own doctor.
Many new dieters will buy new clothes and look for the love they have so often missed. H&M and Tinder will benefit greatly from this. But the real winners are the people who can finally shake off the burden of obesity.