Quick Fixes and Fixations

“One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small,” sang Jefferson Airplane lead singer Grace Slick. Some might say that was just a version of the U.S. consumer’s penchant for quick fixes. 

On the other hand, "quick fixes" might not be our biggest intellectual mistake. That probably ought to be reserved for the idea that one particular problem is so pressing that solving it takes precedence over solving all the other problems we need to confront. 

"Climate change" is a good candidate for that sort of thinking. "Existential threat" is a  term we heard thrown about casually. But there is an argument to be made that the danger is, in fact, not existential. It's a big problem, but we have all sorts of other big problems. 

Poverty, hunger, shelter, sanitation, healthcare, safety, war, invasions, persecution, genocide and so forth. 

We might argue weight-loss drugs are simply the latest example of the search for a quick fix that produces an outcome which otherwise might involve some work: no lifestyle changes and no exercise, just pop the pill. 

That is not to argue against using the quick fix or shortcuts. Some health issues are more important than others. 

And all of life involves tradeoffs, choices and risk. One of my friends suffered permanent nerve damage from the Covid vaccine, causing neuropathy, which is rare, but not unknown. 

Beyond side effects, medical decisions about using weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Mounjaro, Zepbound, Rybelsus, Trulicity, Wegovy or Saxenda are a tradeoff. Which issues are more critical, excessive weight or the possibility of side effects that could come from taking the drug?

As always, one has to balance risks. 

The percentage of U.S. adults on GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, for example, could reach nine percent to 16 percent by about 2030, according to some estimates. 

Some studies indicate that more than half of U.S. adults could be eligible, assuming they face risks from diabetes, obesity, or cardiovascular disease. Without question, consumer demand is fairly high. 

One study suggests 12 percent of U.S. adults have taken GLP-1 drugs. 

As with all “problems,” personal or public, there always are tradeoffs and opportunity costs (what else might you have done had you not invested this time, effort, money?). 

I find this is forgotten whenever advocates for solving any particular problem, no matter how big the problem might be, make a case for expending resources to solve that particular problem. 

And the issue is often not “is this a problem?” or “should we try to solve it?” or “is this the best way to solve the problem?” but rather, “how do we work on this problem at the same time we continue to work on all the other problems we identify?” 

In other words, we cannot devote “all” our resources to climate change mitigation without forfeiting work on hunger, homelessness, disease, war, loneliness, mental and physical health, social inclusion or poverty, for example.