Until America starts treating the cause of obesity and food as something that can be addictive to some people, no surgery or magic pill will end the obesity epidemic.
"Addictive to some people"... yes! Personally, I'm a sugar addict. Sucrose is my drug (but not fructose). I once asked my doctor if it was possible that sugar could be addictive to some people. He replied that the only more addictive substance he knew of was heroin.
I do fine if I stay away from sucrose, as fast food isn't really tempting to me. One bite of sugar and I'm toast. Once, near the holidays (a tough time to avoid sugar especially in the office), my doctor, (a smart, wonderful, compassionate man), wrote me a "prescription" I could pull out and use whenever I felt I was being pressured to "just try" some holiday treats or other dessert. It said "No foods with added sugar for one year." (I don't ingest sugar substitutes so that's not an issue for me. He wrote "added sugar" so I could still eat fruit.) That note came in handy many times and was also a reminder to me.
Re: that "prescription"... people would sometimes ask me why. I'd shrug and say "I guess I'm pre-diabetic or something." But you're right... weight loss drugs help one issue and destroy others (heart, liver, kidneys). Not a good solution.
"Addictive to some people"... yes! Personally, I'm a sugar addict. Sucrose is my drug (but not fructose). I once asked my doctor if it was possible that sugar could be addictive to some people. He replied that the only more addictive substance he knew of was heroin.
I do fine if I stay away from sucrose, as fast food isn't really tempting to me. One bite of sugar and I'm toast. Once, near the holidays (a tough time to avoid sugar especially in the office), my doctor, (a smart, wonderful, compassionate man), wrote me a "prescription" I could pull out and use whenever I felt I was being pressured to "just try" some holiday treats or other dessert. It said "No foods with added sugar for one year." (I don't ingest sugar substitutes so that's not an issue for me. He wrote "added sugar" so I could still eat fruit.) That note came in handy many times and was also a reminder to me.
Re: that "prescription"... people would sometimes ask me why. I'd shrug and say "I guess I'm pre-diabetic or something." But you're right... weight loss drugs help one issue and destroy others (heart, liver, kidneys). Not a good solution.
I made this connection to Wall-E several years ago. Let's also not forget all the "influencers" who are making Americans more stupid by the minute.