this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2026
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[–] theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world -1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

But humans evolved to conserve energy. When faced with hyper-palitable, super calorie dense foods, humans have an overwhelming urge to consume, and keep consuming. And once you’re past a certain point, it becomes increasingly MORE difficult to cut down on eating, all because of biological functions. Of course the initial variable that allows for this is the availability of those foods, but the fact that humans can’t resist them is purely biological. That’s just one of many reasons.

This is an extreme exaggeration and not a real factor that makes dieting a systemic problem, evidenced by the majority of people who are not obese. You claim that dieting fails due to systemic problems, which I agree with, but what you are actually identifying are individual failures.

[–] Alk@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago

It's one example, but it's not extreme. Many first-world countries have an obesity rate above 20%, many above 30%, and some have a rate above 40%, like the US, Egypt, and others. When 30% of a country are affected by the same health issue, it's a systemic issue. And biology plays a huge role in that. Most people know how bad obesity is for them. They're not making the conscious decision to become obese. They are making millions of micro-decisions guided by their mood, hunger, food availability, and willpower to consume calorie-dense foods. Much of that is their biological urge to consume overpowering their better judgement in the moment, made possible by factors outside of their direct control like availability of unhealthy foods.

But we're getting away from the point of this whole comment chain. The point is that dieting doesn't work. Despite official recommendations by nearly all first world countries' governments, and most real doctors out there, 30% of many countries (and 40% of my country) are obese. The point of this comment chain is that that number exists because dieting isn't working for the modern world. And semaglutide is one solution that is saving lives.