The
use
of
GLP-1s
is
skyrocketing
throughout
the
world;
11%
of
American
adults
report
taking

the
medications,
up
from
just
3%
in
2024,

according
to
a
Gallup
poll.

The
prescription
can
be
used
to
treat
Type
2
diabetes
(its
original
use),
obesity
and
also

lower
blood
pressure
and
decrease
the
risk
of
heart
disease.
Many
healthcare
workers
and
GLP-1
users
consider
these
medications
to
be
“miracle
workers”
as
they
improve
health
in
myriad
ways.

Yet,
President

Donald
Trump,
who
has
taken
steps
to
make

GLP-1
medications
cheaper,
often
seems
to
reduce
them
to
an
insult.
He
often
refers
to
the
medication
as
“fat
shots”
or
“fat
drugs,”
language
he’s
been
using
for
months
as
he
tells
stories
of
a
friend
who

“takes
the
‘fat
pill’
or
the
‘fat
shot’”
and
talks
about
seemingly
the
same
friend
who
takes
the

“fat
drug.”

At
best,
his
use
of
the
word
“fat”
is
flippant
and
rude.
At
worst,
it
stigmatizes
a
community
that
regularly
faces
unfair
treatment.

To
understand
how
Americans
feel
about
Trump’s
nicknames
for
the
medication,
we
asked
GLP-1
users
and
medical
professionals
for
their
thoughts.

These
responses
have
been
edited
and
condensed
for
clarity.

“I’m
less
concerned
about
his
phrasing
…
but
rather
our
government’s
inability
to
cover
these
medications
most
of
the
time
through
Medicaid.”

“GLP-1s
are
phenomenal
medications.
Obviously,
not
just
for
weight
loss,
but
for
diabetes
and
heart
disease
and
sleep
apnea.

And
I
don’t
really
put
much
stock
in
the
way
Trump
talks.
We
already
know
that
he
isn’t
the
most
elegant
person,
and
he
uses
a
lot
of
stigmatizing
and
dehumanizing
language
when
it
comes
to
women
and
immigrants
and
people
he
doesn’t
agree
with.
So,
calling
it
‘the
fat
shot’
doesn’t
surprise
me.

I’m
less
concerned
about
his
phrasing,
or
whatever
he
calls
the
medication,
but
rather
our
government’s
inability
to
cover
these
medications
most
of
the
time
through
Medicaid.
I
would
rather
Trump
focus
less
on
calling
it
the
‘fat
shot’
and
[instead
put]
more
legislation
forward
between
him
and
Congress
to
actually
get
Medicaid
to
cover
these
these
life-saving
medications
for
patients
who
are
having
issues
with
obesity,
but
can’t
get
it
covered.”
―


Dr.
Eric
Burnett,
an
internal
medicine
doctor
at
an
academic
medical
center
in
New
York
and
a

health
communicator
on
social
media

“To
frame
this
class
of
drugs
as
‘fat
shots’
is
not
only
fatphobic,
but
also
flattens
all
of
the
benefits
and
uses
of
these
medications.”

“GLP-1s
have
a
ton
of
different
applications.
They
were
originally
FDA-approved
for
Type
2
diabetes
and
insulin
resistance
but
have
since
been
approved
for
so
many
other
things,
including
obesity,
sleep
apnea,
etc.,
with
additional
benefits
like
reduced
risk
of
heart
disease.

To
frame
this
class
of
drugs
as
‘fat
shots’
is
not
only
fatphobic,
but
also
flattens
all
of
the
benefits
and
uses
of
these
medications,
which
I
think
in
turn
will
make
them
seem
more
like
vanity
drugs
instead
of
how
they
actually
address
real
health
conditions.”
―Kylie
Pomaikaiokalani

“The
way
that
he’s
expressing
himself
just
propagates
further
stigma
and
shame.”

“I
think
those
are
surprising
words
coming
from
the
leader
of
the
free
world,
and
not
different
from
insensitive,
un-empathetic
things
that
he’s
done
in
the
past,
like
mocking
people
for
disabilities.

In
a
few
instances,
Trump
referred
to
GLP-1
medications
as
‘fat
drugs’
during
briefings
about
lowering
drug
prices.
I
do
want
to
point
out
that
TrumpRX
has
served
as
a
good
coupon
website
to
gather
coupons
for
GLP-1s.
I
think
Trump
has
done
things
to
help
lower
the
prices
of
GLP-1s,
but
I
definitely
think
he’s
insensitive
with
the
way
that
he’s
discussed
it.

We
know
he
doesn’t
lead
with
kindness
and
empathy.
We
know
that,
in
reality,
the
way
that
he’s
expressing
himself
just
propagates
further
stigma
and
shame
towards
a
population
that
has
only
been
treated
that
way
before
—
with
humiliation
and
shame.”
―Dr.
Elizabeth
Kazarian,
a
family
and
obesity
medicine
physician
in
Virginia

“This
framing
reinforces
the
idea
of
obesity
as
some
sort
of
moral
failing.”

“[Trump’s]
rampant
and
casual
use
of
these
terms
reflects
fatphobia
and
shows
how
normalized
this
form
of
societal
marginalization
is.
It
discounts
the
real
psychological
and
physical
health
effects
of
obesity
and
pathologizes
people
with
obesity.

Calling
GLP-1
medications
‘fat
drugs’
or
‘fat
shots’
is
an
extension
of
fatphobia
to
the
medications
themselves.
It
treats
an
effective
treatment
as
something
shameful,
akin
to
how
obesity
is
treated.

This
framing
reinforces
the
idea
of
obesity
as
some
sort
of
moral
failing,
not
as
the
result
of
a
confluence
of
societal
and
contextual
factors
—
food
deserts
where
people
only
have
access
to
highly
processed,
high-calorie
foods,
infrastructure
that
prioritizes
cars
over
walking
or
biking,
lack
of
safe
spaces
to
exercise,
jobs
that
don’t
allow
employees
to
care
for
their
own
health
and
the
chronic
stress
of
living
in
a
society
with
a
scant
social
safety
net.

Policies
across
all
of
these
areas
have
contributed
to
the
obesity
epidemic,
and
minimizing
obesity
with
these
stigmatizing
nicknames
for
GLP-1s
mischaracterizes
what
is
actually
a
public
health
crisis
rooted
in
structural
conditions.”

―


Dr.
Oni
Blackstock,
a
primary
care
and
HIV
physician
who
is
the
founder
and
executive
director
of

Health
Justice,
a
racial
and
health
equity
consulting
company.

“I
don’t
give
a
f**k
what
that
idiot
says
about
them
or
anything
else.”

“Obesity
is
a
complex,
multifaceted,
chronic
disease,
and
GLP-1s
correct
a
metabolic
issue.
They
are
a
lifesaving
medication
for
many
people.
I
hate
the
stigma
around
them,
and
the
way
they’re
treated,
but
if
we’re
talking
about
him
specifically,
I
don’t
give
a
f**k
what
that
idiot
says
about
them
or
anything
else.”
―Cindy
Mello

“The
‘inflammatory’
remarks
by
Trump
and
the
general
public
are
creating
an
unnecessary
culture
of
shame
around
a
life-changing
‘anti-inflammatory’
medication.”

“I
was
put
on
a
GLP-1
to
address
my
insulin-resistant
PCOS/PMOS
and
fatty
liver
disease.
However,
the
largest
benefit
has
been
an
unexpected
side
effect
of
the
inflammation
reduction
for
my
endometriosis.

It
has
been
more
effective
at
reducing
my
daily
pain
and
giving
me
my
life
back
than
any
other
invasive
treatment
or
drugs
I
have
tried,
while
also
having
the
lowest
side
effect
risk.

Many
people
with
autoimmune
conditions
are
reporting
similar
success,
and
the
‘inflammatory’
remarks
by
Trump
and
the
general
public
are
creating
an
unnecessary
culture
of
shame
around
a
life-changing
‘anti-inflammatory’
medication.”

―Krysta
Berning
Nunn

“We
already
have
enough
issues
in
the
country
with
body
image,
from
‘too
skinny’
to
‘too
heavy’
and
everything
in
between.”

“My
husband
is
diabetic
and
takes
it
to
control
his
A1C
better.
He
has
actually
lost
very
LITTLE
weight
with
the
shot.

There
shouldn’t
be
any
stigma
around
this
or
any
drug
that
helps
you
improve
your
health.
We
already
have
enough
issues
in
the
country
with
body
image,
from
‘too
skinny’
to
‘too
heavy’
and
everything
in
between.”
―Kelly
Kuntz

“He
can
call
them
whatever
he
wants.
It
doesn’t
change
the
fact
that
they
have
been
nothing
short
of
a
miracle
for
me.”

“He
can
call
them
whatever
he
wants.
It
doesn’t
change
the
fact
that
they
have
been
nothing
short
of
a
miracle
for
me.

After
years
of
trying
everything
from
changing
diet,
removing
processed
foods,
high
fructose
corn
syrup,
different
diet
plans,
HCG
shots,
keto
and
nothing
working
—
22
months
in
and
I’ve
lost
over
130
pounds
and
gained
my
life
back.

I
believe
that
the
obesity
epidemic
in
this
country
starts
with
what’s
in
our
food,
which
is
regulated
by
the
very
institution
that
limits
access
to
GLP-1s.
It’s
not
meant
as
an
alternative
to
healthy
diet
and
exercise,
but
in
combination
with
and
not
a
quick
fix.”
―Heather
McClary
Philpot

“I
wish
more
people
knew
this
wasn’t
the
‘easy’
way.
It’s
not.”

“Listen…
I’m
on
a
GLP-1,
and
I
don’t
care
what
anyone
calls
it.
If
I
let
WORDS
affect
me,
I’d
stay
bothered,
and
who
has
time
for
that?
I’m
just
out
here
living
my
life.

Call
it
what
you
want
to
call
it,
I
don’t
care.
I
wish
more
people
knew
this
wasn’t
the
‘easy’
way.
It’s
not.
I
had
to
change
my
eating
habits
entirely.

Those
who
say
all
you
need
is
diet
and
exercise
have
never
had
diet
and
exercise
not
work
for
them.
Losing
weight
isn’t
a
one-size-fits-all.
Why
should
we
stay
overweight
when
we
have
this
wonderful
tool
to
use
to
our
benefit?”
―Jennifer
J.
Beard

“He
is
uninformed
on
this
issue
like
he
is
on
others.”

“He
is
uninformed
on
this
issue
like
he
is
on
others.
GLP-1s
are
used
for
myriad
conditions,
not
just
weight
loss.”
―Amanda
Brown-Mini

The
original
version
of
this
story
was
published
on
HuffPost
at
an
earlier
date.