Research sparks the debate: after treatment with anti-obesity drugs, the chances of being hired and starting a relationship increase. But is the merit of the drug or of our prejudices?
There is a fact that tells the story of the revolution better than any slogan GLP-1 drugs has now entered the daily lives of Americans. Today more than 11% of the US adult population declares to take or have taken medicines belonging to this therapeutic class, such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and other analogues of the intestinal hormone GLP-1. It means that over one in ten Americans now lives with a therapy that, until a few years ago, was intended almost exclusively for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and which today represents the most profound change that has ever occurred in the management ofobesity.
Photographing this transformation is a recent Gallup pollwhich shows how the spread of GLP-1 continues to increase while, at the same time, the first signs of a slight reduction in the prevalence of obesity in the United States are beginning to appear. It is not yet possible to attribute this change exclusively to drugs, but it is clear that their impact is going well beyond endocrinology and diabetology clinics. Moreover, these medicines have also rapidly changed the public debate. If initially they were considered simply a new therapeutic weapon against diabetestoday they are discussed in the boards of directors of large companies, in insurance companies, in the food industry, in fashion and even on television programs. It’s not surprising: a therapy capable of inducing weight losses of even more than 15-20% inevitably changes the way in which millions of people experience their bodies, but also the way in which they are looked at by others. And that’s exactly the point. Because, while doctors and researchers continue to study its metabolic, cardiovascular and neurological effects, new research coming from Harvard University it shifted attention to completely different terrain. The question is no longer just whether these drugs make you lose weight. The question is whether, by losing weight, the way society judges those who take them also changes.
The Harvard study: more likely to find a job and a partner
The idea was born almost by chance. The economist Rebecca Diamondprofessor at Harvard, said she became curious after listening to some women who, following therapy with a GLP-1claimed they were treated differently than in the past. They didn’t talk about health, or blood sugar or blood pressure. They told of job interviews that went better, of attention received, of a different perception from the people they met every day. From here an analysis was born based on the data of Understanding America Studya large database coordinated by University of Southern Californiawhich follows over ten thousand US citizens over time. The researcher compared three groups of women with high body mass index: who had started therapy with GLP-1those who wanted to start it but had not yet had access to treatment and those who did not use these drugs. After adjusting the results for variables such as age, health, income and other individual characteristics, a figure emerged that immediately attracted the attention of economists and public health experts. In women who were unemployed at the start of the study, starting treatment was associated with a probability higher by 27 percentage points to find a job within the next eighteen months compared to those who wanted to take the drug but had not yet done so. Even more surprising is the result relating to private life: among single women, the probability of starting a cohabitation or getting married was higher higher by 29 percentage points after starting treatment.
The weight of prejudices: what this research really tells us
The temptation to read these results as a new demonstration of the “superpowers” of the GLP-1 drugs however, it would be a mistake. The author herself urges caution. The study is a working paperstherefore has not yet completed the review process, and does not demonstrate a definitive cause-and-effect relationship. Rather, it highlights a phenomenon that economists and social psychologists have long known: the prejudice against obesitythe so-called weight biascontinues to profoundly impact the opportunities of millions of people. After all, the most interesting part of the research is not so much what changes, but what it doesn’t change. Women who were already employed did not receive salary increases, promotions or career advancement. Similarly, those who were already married or in a stable relationship showed no significant changes in the quality or duration of the relationship. The positive effects are concentrated almost exclusively in the moments where it matters first impact: a job interview, a first date, meeting a person who doesn’t know us yet. That’s where body weight seems to have the greatest influence. However, there is another fact that deserves attention. Despite the increase in work and romantic opportunities, the participants in the study they do not report a significant improvement in life satisfaction. Subjective well-being remains essentially stable. It is perhaps the most surprising result of the entire research, because it may suggest that the relief resulting from weight loss still coexists with the psychological burden of years of stigma and discrimination. The real news, then, is perhaps not that i GLP-1 help you find a job or a partner. The real news is different, and it is decidedly less reassuring. If losing weight is enough for professional and sentimental opportunities to increase, it means that the problem is not just theobesity. It’s the value we continue to attribute to physical appearance when we choose who to hire, who to date and, ultimately, who we deem worthy of a chance. New drugs are changing millions of bodies. This research suggests they may also have shined a light on a prejudice that existed long before Ozempic, Wegovy and others GLP-1. And which will probably continue to exist even when next generation drugs arrive.
