Amna Nawaz:
About 12 percent of Americans now take a set of blockbuster weight-loss drugs called GLP-1. And as their popularity continues to soar, new concerns have emerged regarding societal impacts, particularly around body image.
Correspondent Stephanie Sy and producers Mike Fritz and Sam Lane tell this story for the latest installment of our GLP-1s: Reshaping America series.
Gabriella Coro, former GLP-1 patient:
You’re not going to tell me? For what?
Stéphanie Sy:
When Gabby(ph) Coro became a mom in 2021, the joy of having her son, Charlie, was quickly overshadowed by what followed.
Gabriella Coro:
It was very difficult to lose weight. I had been through some pretty severe postpartum depression that lasted about three years, and nothing was really working. Some of the side effects include weight gain or, for example, very difficult weight loss.
Stéphanie Sy:
The 35-year-old university professor lives in Miami with her husband, Raul. She says that despite repeated efforts, she struggled to lose about 30 pounds following her pregnancy.
Gabriella Coro:
I just didn’t like how I would look in photos, I didn’t want to have my picture taken during that time. My husband can attest that a family member asked him if we were separated or divorced. He says, I don’t see Gabby in any of our photos with you and your son.
And that’s how I told myself: don’t take my picture. I don’t want to be seen.
Stéphanie Sy:
But late last year, he was prescribed a GLP-1.
Gabriella Coro:
And I did my first injection after Christmas and my birthday, so I could have birthday cake and have fun.
Serena Williams, professional tennis player:
Thirty-four pounds lighter on the GLP-1s.
Stéphanie Sy:
With celebrity-fronted ads flooding the airwaves and social media feeds.
Kenan Thompson, actor:
Maybe we don’t need a pill for everything, but for weight management, there’s Wegovy.
Stéphanie Sy:
The health benefits of GLP-1, beyond weight loss, have also fueled its growing popularity. In addition to treating diabetes, for which they were originally developed, the drugs are found to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes and improve a range of cognitive and behavioral health outcomes, reducing seizures, sleep apnea and arthritis.
But for Gabby Coro, who after just three months of GLP-1 treatment lost almost all of her post-pregnancy weight, the decision to take them seemed difficult.
Gabriella Coro:
I felt like I was almost a traitor to everything I stood for when it came to body positivity. The only beach body is a body on the beach, these slogans that people say, and I believe it, and there, I take the medicine. And I was just… I felt really ashamed about it.
Stéphanie Sy:
Since 2019, the number of overweight adults in the United States prescribed GLP-1 has skyrocketed by nearly 600%.
Charlotte Markey, clinical health psychologist:
These medications are marketed as a way to change your body and make you feel better about yourself. And I think they’re somewhat oversold.
Stéphanie Sy:
Charlotte Markey is a clinical health psychologist at Rutgers University and the author of several books on body image.
Charlotte Markey:
Body image is linked to depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. When people don’t feel good about themselves, the consequences are truly far-reaching. And it’s no wonder that ads suggesting you can take a drug to improve your body image are compelling.
But what we don’t have is data that actually shows that taking these weight loss drugs will improve body image.
Stéphanie Sy:
She also worries that GLP-1s could solve one problem while creating others.
Charlotte Markey:
And I see in my practice that there are people who have been prescribed these medications, but who are not eating enough and who are essentially developing eating disorders because of the medications.
Women:
Real.
Women:
Beautiful.
Stéphanie Sy:
She says it wasn’t that long ago that bodies of all sizes were becoming more accepted.
Charlotte Markey:
We’ve really seen people embrace body diversity, accept it and love seeing themselves in the images around them. And then weight loss drugs came along, and there was less diversity.
Stéphanie Sy:
Research also indicates that tall people who use GLP-1 for weight loss face new stigmas. A study published earlier this year found that they are viewed negatively because they take a shortcut.
Meanwhile, another study found that women’s chances of being hired and finding a spouse increase after more than a year and a half of treatment.
Ruth McClelland-Nugent, former GLP-1 patient:
So I went from a 3X, 3XL T-shirt, to a medium. I’m wearing a medium today. And it’s weird to get these compliments about how beautiful you are, and you know you’re very sick inside.
Stéphanie Sy:
Ruth McClelland-Nugent, 50, started taking a GLP-1 last year to combat diabetes. And for that, the medicine worked. She also lost about 100 pounds.
But the Georgia resident says it also led to a cascade of health problems.
Ruth McClelland-Nugent:
Certainly, having lower blood pressure, lower weight and lower HbA1c levels are very good things. But I can’t be very active. I am not able to control my emotions. I have this hunger thing. I am weak. I’m having trouble. I go up and down the stairs. I’m having trouble getting used to walking.
Stéphanie Sy:
Even though McClelland-Nugent only took a GLP-1 for seven weeks and stopped it in November, the side effects, she says, persisted.
Ruth McClelland-Nugent:
It’s the laxative.
Stéphanie Sy:
And now she has to carry a bag full of medications to treat a variety of symptoms that she traces back to when she took GLP-1.
Ruth McClelland-Nugent:
These are two different versions of what makes me able to eat.
Stéphanie Sy:
He was initially diagnosed with gastroparesis, a rare side effect that affects digestion and can lead to a lack of appetite and nutrition.
Ruth McClelland-Nugent:
When you lose muscle there, it really throws off your balance. SO…
Stéphanie Sy:
She also says she has experienced rapid muscle loss and sometimes needs to use a cane.
Ruth McClelland-Nugent:
My goal was to lower my blood sugar, not necessarily lose weight. So this whole thing has been really weird and it wasn’t planned.
Dr. Tro Kalayjian, Chief Medical Officer, Toward Health:
I remember being 350 pounds on a plane, and when I asked for a seat belt extender, the flight attendant turned around and said, “We need a hog strap.”
Stéphanie Sy:
Dr. Tro Kalayjian, who says he goes against the grain of the medical establishment, can sympathize with the patients he sees in his obesity medicine practice outside New York City.
Dr. Tro Kalayjian:
I couldn’t ride carnival rides with my kids. I couldn’t experience life. I couldn’t go shopping. I never felt good about myself.
Stéphanie Sy:
Ten years ago, Dr. Kalayjian began a strict ketogenic diet and exercise routine. He lost 150 pounds, a weight he was able to maintain, he says, without using GLP-1.
Dr. Tro Kalayjian:
I think these medications are amazing. They are a wonderful tool for people with diabetes and obesity, but without a holistic approach, we are literally setting people up for failure.
Our diet has not changed significantly to accommodate these medications. We didn’t suddenly start adopting nutrient-dense diets. Not all of us have started exercising, which means we’re not mitigating the side effects we’re experiencing.
Stéphanie Sy:
And while he prescribes them to some of his patients, he also touts a GLP-1 exit route on his website for people suffering from physical or mental side effects.
Dr. Tro Kalayjian:
I think the greatest harm doctors can do right now is to take someone who has struggled with obesity their whole life, who doesn’t know how to eat for nourishment, who is nutrient depleted, who has never had their psychological or emotional issues evaluated, and just give them a GLP-1 and make them eat less.
I think that’s a recipe for disaster.
Stéphanie Sy:
For Gabby Coro, back in Miami, this is the recipe for success. She is…
Gn Health
