We need to stop the trend of influencers begging people not to use a GLP-1. Such influencers are spreading medical misinformation and harmful rhetoric.
For example, “Elizabeth” (not her real name) posted a rant on Instagram urging women not to take GLP-1 medications.
This influencer has no medical training whatsoever; needless to say, she’s never been a medical doctor or nurse.
Yet here she is, passionately telling people she doesn’t even know to avoid these game-changing drugs. And she’s not the only one.
Her illogical, potentially dangerous rhetoric is shared by other influencers – and like Elizabeth, some of them have never even been overweight, let alone morbidly obese.
The “Alarming” and “Sad” Flood of GLP- Ads
I’m no tech genius, but I certainly know there are ways to keep unwanted ads at bay on social media.
I rarely see GLP-1 ads. It’s something the influencer and their followers are doing that’s keeping the ads coming.
There are ways to circumvent this, though I can’t explain how because I’m not a techy.
But something I’ve heard is that the more an influencer talks about these drugs (either positively or negatively), the more the algorithm learns to keep serving them up.
There’s also the option of taking a break from social media. It’s not necessary to spend so much time on it.
Countless generations grew up just fine without heavy social media use.
If you’re on social media enough, you’ll invariably run into unwanted ads. If the kitchen’s too hot, get out.
GLP-1 Ads Brainwash You
When I was growing up, I learned that religious cults use brainwashing techniques.
When I was around 16 I told my older sister, who was about to enter her first year of college away from home, the warning signs of religious cult indoctrination.
When I entered college at 17, I considered myself brainwash-proof.
I refused to do anything I didn’t want to do. I was “my own person,” as the saying goes.
I was also very socially awkward! You’d think that my then-undiagnosed autism would’ve been all the more reason to make desperate attempts to “fit in,” such as slimming down.
No. I wanted to lose weight because I simply looked better at 140 vs. 155. There was no “I’ll feel more worthy” or “I’ll make friends more easily” attached to this. Dayum.
Nobody can brainwash you without your participation. It’s up to the individual to use critical thinking skills and realize that they don’t have to feel a certain way because of online or TV ads.
If you feel brainwashed by ANY ad, even if they keep popping up every five minutes, then it’s time to ask yourself why your psyche is so non-resilient and take beastly measures to fix this problem.
If your confidence level is dictated by the quantity of GLP-1 ads that come your way, then you must ask yourself how sturdy you’d be when life’s real curveballs come hurtling your way.
Feeling You Must Change Yourself Because You See GLP-1 Ads
Nothing can make you feel this need without your permission.
I grew up in an era in which young women were expected to have more accountability than today’s young generation.
In fact, the mantra of “Nobody can take advantage of you without your permission” was made popular by the famous advice columnist Ann Landers. And she was right.
It reminds me of the time my paternal aunt told my mother that her husband keeps insulting her.
My mother told her something like, “The first time he did that, it was his fault. The second time he did that, it was your fault.”
Today’s younger adults need to STOP blaming everything else on their problems and start taking some self-accountability.
Every generation sees tons of ads for weight loss. Not a single one of them ever made me feel I had to change, even though I began carrying extra pounds in high school.
If you feel triggered and alarmed by GLP-1 advertisements and influencers promoting these medications, then you probably would’ve been triggered by Jenny Craig and SlimFast TV ads had you been born two generations ago. Stop allowing yourself to be so impressionable.
Influencers Telling People “You Don’t Need to Lose Weight”
It’s common for women in the fat acceptance movement to clap back with, “You’re not my doctor!” when commenters to their posts urge them to lose weight for health reasons.
Yet here we have straight-size, plus-size and slender influencers yelling across social media, “You don’t need to lose weight.”
My question to them is: “Regarding the women you’re speaking to, are you THEIR doctor?”
GLP-1 drugs have been godsends to many patients. Just whom do these influencers think they are, instructing people not to take these drugs?
That decision is best left up to the patient and their physician.
Yes, some people have suffered awful side effects. But what else is new when it comes to a prescription drug?
They ALL have potentially horrible side effects. Read the inserts!
“You Don’t Have to Change Your Body”
Again, are Elizabeth and like-minded influencers doctors?
Do they know the medical history of the women they’re imploring to avoid GLP-1s like Zepbound, Ozempic and Mounjaro?
Some of these influencers have never been overweight enough to suffer the consequences such as daily aches and pains, plantar fasciitis (heel pain), difficulty with certain tasks, acid reflux and heartburn, tiring easily, difficulty reaching important areas of their body for good hygiene, sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes and difficulty conceiving, plus the health ailments that can’t be felt such as high blood pressure and a poor cholesterol profile.
They shouldn’t be advising fat people not to take a drug that can be their lifesaver by helping them lose up to 100 pounds.
Doctors won’t prescribe a GLP-1 for weight loss to a patient who’s not overweight.
Yet easily triggered influencers and their gullible followers believe that GLP-1 advertising is all about getting “skinny.”
Show me just ONE such ad with the message of, “Take this drug and you’ll get skinny.” Show me just one. I challenge you to.
The marketing is about weight loss, not getting thin. I’ve yet to see a GLP-1 ad in which the actress looks like Ariana Grande. All the women in these ads are plus-size.
That one where all the people stop what they’re doing to march all together in a street? Not a single one is skinny. The smallest of them are still thick.
Today’s soft generation needs to stop inserting their own stories into these ads.
I’m not saying it’s great that Big Pharma is pumping out all these ads.
- My take is to just let it be. Ignore them.
- It’s a free country, and drug ads have been a part of our culture for eons. Deal with it.
- If you want to be concerned about drugs, then maybe get involved in combating illegal drug use. Speak out about the prevalence of illegal substances among high schoolers rather than whining that Serena Williams’ endorsement of a GLP-1 has messed with your head.
- Mute the TV on commercial breaks.
- Get off of social media for a change.
- Stop blaming marketing, advertising and giant corporations for your personal problems and toughen up.
If you’ve allowed an ad to make you feel you’re not good enough, then maybe you’ve always felt that way due to the way your parents interacted with you growing up.
An ad’s not going to break you if you’ve been pumped with self-esteem by loving, supportive, fair and reasonable parents. Psych 101 here.
Nobody Is Perfect
Not even Mother Theresa was perfect. Yet these influencers think they’re going to change the world with their repetitive and condescending “You’re perfect just the way you are” when trying to convince someone who’s overweight they don’t need to lose weight.
Yeah, again, what medical school did they graduate from?
Because nobody can ever be perfect, we shouldn’t strive for perfection.
Instead we should always be striving to upgrade ourselves, to become our best version of ourselves – or at least, an improved version.
This includes our health. And good physical health plus great fitness is strongly tied to great mental health.
It’s been profoundly established by research that improvements in physical health and fitness lead to dramatic improvements in mental health.
It’s not about perfection, and I don’t think anyone actually really believes this.
The word “perfection” is tossed about like a ragdoll being tossed by a dog.
But it’s an easy word to pull out of thin air by an influencer who wants to sound revolutionary, pioneering and smart.
Elizabeth and her like-minded peers tell women, “You’re beautiful just the way you are.”
Yet in the next post they have two pounds of makeup on and fake fingernails.
They also have a tendency to pose, when wearing pricey or formal clothes, in ways that make them look their slimmest.
Listen to Your Doctor, not Influencers
If you’re overweight and confused by conflicting messages from influencers (many of whom have never had a real job and certainly no medical training), then SEE YOUR DOCTOR about weight loss options.
And as simple as the following sounds, I’m going to say it anyways: Join a gym. It’ll be one of the best investments you could ever make. Get strong.
I see big plus-size women at the gym working out hard, really killing it.
I’ll bet Elizabeth and company would actually have the gall to approach one and blurt, “You’re working too hard; you’re perfect just the way you are!”
Or at least, they’d think this. It is SO patronizing and insulting. I commend those big women at the gym for kicking ass. And if their No. 1 goal is weight loss, then that’s their business.
