Collaboration for Academic Primary Care (APEx) Blog
Collaboration for Academic Primary Care (APEx) Blog
Posted by ma403
29 April 2025When Prof Rupert Payne and I got our heads together to start writing our latest BJGP Editorial GLP-1 receptor agonists: panacea or affirmation of societal failure? It was difficult to know where to start. GLP-1 receptor agonists under the various brand names of Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro have sky rocketed in use over recent years. We know that they have game changing effects on reducing the risk of cardiovascular events for people living with diabetes, as well as helping them to control their blood sugar. There are even new studies which suggest that GLP-1 receptor agonists could reduce the risk of neurocognitive, respiratory and substance use disorders.
However, our editorial was less about the undisputable benefits they bring for people living with diabetes and more about something which affects the majority of adults living in the UK – being overweight. Not only do GLP-1 agonists bring huge health benefits for those living with long term conditions, they also help people who are otherwise ‘fit and healthy’ to shed weight quickly without too much effort. Once they were made available for people to purchase privately, our western society has seized upon the opportunity of a drug-based quick-fix for weight loss, so much so, that there was a global shortage of these drugs when manufacturing capacity was outstripped by demand.
In our editorial, Prof Payne and I reflect on how we have got here as a society. Walk down the aisles of a supermarket and it’s three times more expensive per calorie to buy healthy, locally grown produce than it is buy less healthy foods. Our highstreets are full of fast food joints and if you don’t fancy venturing out of your home, someone will gladly deliver (for a small fee) an unhealthy meal directly to your door. We argue that our society is obesogenic. It encourages us to move less and consume more, in a world of plenty. This is a stark contrast to what our bodies have evolved to endure – we have evolved to survive a world of scarcity, where calories are precious and not guaranteed.
So what’s the answer to this? Finding a way for people to engage in more physical activity in their day to day lives and work? Taxing fast food and delivery services to subsidise healthier options? Or change nothing about how we live and instead prescribe GLP-1 agonist after GLP-agonist as the next panacea? There are no easy answers to this question and medication may very well help some people on their way to living a healthier life. However, it’s easier to treat a symptom than it is to address an underlying cause. What can we do better to stop people from becoming overweight in the first place? Find out our thoughts at BJGP https://bjgp.org/content/75/753/148