Getting triggered on other peoples’ use of GLP-1 drugs means poor mental health and other unresolved psych issues.
There exist influencers — some with hundreds of thousands of followers, even well over a million across multiple platforms — who get triggered through the ceiling at the thought of normal-weight people taking the drugs to lose weight.
They get upset even when an overweight individual takes the medication for weight loss.
The really weird thing here is that these influencers never express outcries over far more dangerous things that people do to their bodies: smoking, vaping, drinking, habitual bingeing on ultra-processed foods, not wearing a seatbelt, working too much and sleeping too little, avoiding exercise, sitting too much (the “sitting disease”) and more.
Is that because many of these influencers drink and/or smoke? Vape? Don’t exercise? Sit all day? Like, what’s going on here?
And what fuels their getting so easily jangled over the concept of “there exist non-overweight women who take GLP-1’s to get slimmer”?
These influencers need to ask themselves just how “clean” their own body self-care habits are, instead of getting worked up over Serena Williams’ weight loss from a GLP-1.
Serena is older. Her metabolism and physical activity level aren’t what they once were. On top of those factors maybe she’s just eating more than ever. Lots of food noise. Who knows?
So she decides to use a GLP-1. She’s lost weight (and looks fit and healthy, not malnourished) and pitches the GLP-1 called RO. And social media can’t get enough of it.
Why is this triggering to not only some influencers, but so many of their followers?
Even when they come across a familiar face on Instagram or TikTok, who’s not a famous athlete or entertainer, but perhaps another influencer — who’s been looking “shrunk” lately — they go into trigger mode.
And this is proven by the posts they make to their social media. What drives this?
These are the same social media personalities who preach, “Can we stop commenting about women’s bodies?”
Never Been Overweight
An influencer who has never been overweight may seem like an unlikely person to become fixated on GLP-1 meds such as RO, Zepbound and Mounjaro.
Let’s attempt to make this make sense.
Part of the answer may be the psychology of body image.
Research has repeatedly shown that body dissatisfaction isn’t limited to the obese.
We all probably know a few women, even men, whose body insecurities are nowhere near proportionate to what they actually look like.
There’s no rhyme and reason to their massive body insecurities, whereas, a woman who’s a 2X would very understandably have body insecurity.
Even individuals whose weight falls within a medically healthy range can become preoccupied with achieving an even thinner appearance (Cash & Smolak, 2011).
For Instagram and TikTok stars, appearance is often tied directly to income, engagement and personal branding.
A small physical change that most people would never notice can feel enormously important when thousands of followers are scrutinizing photos and videos every day.
Social comparison may also factor into this.
Studies have found that frequent exposure to idealized images on social media is associated with increased appearance concerns and greater pressure to meet narrow beauty standards (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2016).
However, just what decides what an “idealized” image is in the first place?
For example, there are plenty of Instagram and TikTok accounts idealizing very muscular builds on women.
There are others that idealize super morbid obesity.
So just who, or what, dictates that any one specific look is THE gold standard?
It may all come down to the experiences a particular woman had growing up that shaped the way she thinks.
And sometimes, those experiences will set the stage for becoming unsettled upon viewing weight loss in total strangers.
And when an influencer sees their own peers becoming thinner with the help of GLP-1 medications — even if this is just a vague suspicion — curiosity can quickly become obsession.
There is also the attraction of control.
GLP-1 drugs have been shown to reduce appetite and food cravings in many users (Wilding et al., 2021).
For someone already focused on maintaining a certain physique, a medication that promises greater control over hunger may seem highly appealing, even if weight loss is neither necessary nor medically recommended.
Another factor is novelty.
People, particularly influencers, are naturally drawn to trends, especially trends that generate attention.
Psychologists have long recognized that new and highly discussed topics can become the focus of disproportionate interest, particularly when associated with status (Berlyne, 1960).
In some cases, the preoccupation may have little to do with weight itself.
Instead, it may reflect anxiety about aging, fear of losing relevance, perfectionism or the desire to maintain a competitive edge in an image-driven profession.
It could also be something awry that kept happening to the individual when growing up — while their sense of self was still vulnerable and highly impressionable.
The result is that an influencer who’s struggled with obesity may nevertheless spend an extraordinary amount of time thinking about medications originally developed to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes.
This can become so troubling that they begin posting about it — noticeably excessively — while tuning out much bigger problems in the world.
