Thanksgiving was a holiday that Claudia Stearns dreaded her entire life. Having battled obesity since childhood, Stearns detested the yearly upheaval of worrying excessively about her diet and feeling guilty for indulging on a food-focused holiday.
Wegovy is a potent new anti-obesity medication that Stearns used to lose almost 100 pounds. She claims that since then, the “food noise” in her head has completely disappeared.
According to Somerville, Massachusetts resident Stearns, 65, “it felt so lovely to just be able to enjoy my meal, to focus on being with friends and family, to focus on the joy of the day last year.” “It was an entirely novel experience.”
Stearns’ experience is becoming more common as a new generation of weight-loss medications becomes available to millions of Americans who struggle with obesity. It is also more noticeable during the times of year when cooking, eating, and a sense of abundance can define and heighten gatherings of loved ones and friends. Both consumers and medical professionals claim that the drugs are changing how users think about food in addition to what they eat.
It means more mental control over mealtimes for some people. Some claim that it lessens the pleasure of social events, such as Thanksgiving, Passover, and Christmas, which are customarily associated with food.
According to Dr. Daniel Bessesen, chief of endocrinology at Denver Health, who treats patients with obesity, “it’s something that really changes a lot in their life.” “They stop making food the main focus and start acting like it’s not.”
MITIGATION OF THE FESTIVITIES?
The new obesity medications, such as tirzepatide (used in Mounjaro and recently approved as Zepbound) and semaglutide (used in Ozempic and Wegovy), were initially intended to treat diabetes. The weekly injections of drugs are now intended to aid in weight loss, but they function very differently from diets. They mimic the potent hormones that are released after meals to control hunger and the brain’s communication of fullness. Studies indicate that users can reduce up to 15% to 25% of their body weight.
“That’s how it works — it lessens the satisfying aspects of food,” says Dr. Michael Schwartz, a University of Washington in Seattle specialist in metabolism, diabetes, and obesity.
Using the weight-loss drugs allows Stearns, who began treatment in 2020, to enjoy a few bites of her favorite Thanksgiving pies before stopping.
She claims that although she wouldn’t feel full, she would be satisfied.
However, because it modifies the experience of joyous and religious holidays that are frequently centered around interactions with food—and lots of it—such a change may have wider ramifications, both religious and cultural.