alt Hacker NewsThere's some evidence that Ozempic improves general impulse control, e.g decreasing alcohol consumption [0], which the article mentions.
Also, as Tyler Cowen writes [1], this is probably going to translate into big improvements for animal welfare:
> People lose weight on these drugs because they eat less, and eating less usually means eating less meat. And less meat consumption results in less factory farming. This should count as a major victory for animal welfare advocates, even though it did not come about through their efforts. No one had to be converted to vegetarianism, and since these drugs offer other benefits, this change in the equilibrium is self-sustaining and likely to grow considerably.
So overall, widespread Ozempic adoption seems like progress to me.
[0] https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/08/28/1194526...
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-07-20/animal...
Replies
This matches experience with dieting and impulse control, without these drugs even. Two days of junk food and the food brain is SCREAMING in my head. So I just don't do it. It's also way more obvious when I mess up, that it makes my body feel bad.
But when I say food brain, it's everything. I want to vape, I want to have more coffee, then more beer, then some cannabis to go to sleep. Wake up and hit the dopamine cycle again. I have to take care of myself and ask "why am I doing this, could I just not, and if so I must not".
Eating animals and animal welfare are two entirely different things. We could all be vegetarians and still be intentionally or unintentionally intolerably cruel to all other life on this planet.
> big improvements for animal welfare
Is it? It might reduce the amount of animals killed, sure, but it won't improve the well-being of the ones that are still raised.
Naltrexone will do the same thing. For alcohol, opioid, or binge eating control. Improve T3 and helps with blood sugar, and its orally bioavailable.
That sounds speculative and would require some deep research to find if it's even happening.
I think it's equally plausible that the US increases food exports rather than lower production. Especially as production is subsidized.
> There's some evidence that Ozempic improves general impulse control
What if it makes us get a better control over our consumption behavior in general?
Wouldn't some large companies have a problem with that and fight it?
>There's some evidence that Ozempic improves general impulse control
While remaining on the drug.
I expect your impulse control will be even worse after getting off of it, but I don't have a study to back that up.
How long till we become voluntary Voyagers [0] ?
I think the assertion that "eating less usually means eating less meat" is probably false (though I couldn't read the article cuz paywall).
The first article talks plenty about why: people are eating less of the the things that are addictive to them, such as alcohol and cookies, which are a major source of calories.
Yay, more dependence on the people that are causing the problems to begin with!
I swear covid was a personality test. If you came out of the last 4 years and are looking for more dependence on government and pharma… well, the horseshoe is a V I guess.
I had a short conversation with an agronomist friend of mine. Crop prices are in the dumps right now, and I was wondering if it's because of these drugs. He said this is being openly discussed.