America seems to be in a constant losing battle with its weight. We're bombarded with one fitness expert's opinion weighed against some revolutionary kale juice slurpy. Do this routine and try to avoid the junk food that's been scientifically designed to make you dream about having it. Most recently, research has actually come to the rescue with something more than wishful thinking. A science of weight-loss drugs that literally works miracles. But at what cost?
Dr. Nicholas Cozzi, director of emergency medical services at Rush University Medical Center, wrote a 2025 article in Time, "The Heavy Cost of Using Weight-Loss Drugs to Get Skinny." There's no doubt that these new drugs help people lose weight. Some people have incredible physical changes. However, is it treated so casually that people put themselves unnecessarily at dangerous risk?
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Dr. Cozzi writes, "Some people are trading medical risks for the cultural reward of becoming thin—chasing a body ideal without always understanding the hidden cost." He continues, "... these medications were originally developed to help people with diabetes manage their blood sugar. Now, the cultural rush for thinness is reshaping who gets access to drugs which were once reserved for chronic illness."
What's so amazing about these weight loss drugs?
Weight loss drugs and tape measure.Image via Canva - Photo by Alones
Obesity is a global challenge leading to early morbidity and mortality. In the United States, the figures are staggering and rising. The National Center for Health Statistics released a 2024 study revealing that over 40% of adults were experiencing weight challenges, and 9.4% were considered severely obese. The research states, "Obesity is a chronic condition that increases the risk of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers." This is a problem, and people need help.
Traditionally, the only solutions available were diet and exercise. However, research now suggests the problem is so much larger and more complex than simple, yet difficult, behavioral changes. The need to find new ways to change the chemical and neurological pathways that govern hunger led to groundbreaking research.
Weight-loss drugs work. They can take significant fat and pounds off a person with little change to their daily routines. A 2022 study in The New England Journal of Medicine reported weight loss of 16% to 23% after only 72 weeks for users of Tirzepatide medication. A 2021 study reported in the National Library of Medicine on the drug Semaglutide had similar effective results. "In participants with overweight or obesity, 2.4 mg of semaglutide once weekly plus lifestyle intervention was associated with sustained, clinically relevant reduction in body weight."
If the drugs work so well and the FDA has approved them for the public, what's the big problem?
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Dr. Cozzi says in his Time article, "To be clear, I am not condemning weight-loss drugs or the people who take them. But we need to confront the high price we often overlook in the race to get skinny. We should ask critical questions now because we are at a cultural crossroads. And as these medications redefine medicine, perceived body image, and healthcare access, we must reckon with the medical and psychological fall out left behind."
Here are some of the risks and side effects attributed to weight loss drugs:
- Stomach problems: (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, intense stomach pain). A 2025 study in the National Library of Medicine found gastrointestinal-related issues were almost twice as likely compared to those taking a placebo. It urged vigilant monitoring of patients, especially during early treatment.
- Mood changes: (depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation). A 2023 study published in the National Library of Medicine stated, "Notably, patients on GLP-1 RAs exhibited a 195% higher risk of major depression, a 108% increased risk for anxiety, and a 106% elevated risk for suicidal behavior." The study discussed the urgent requirement for further trials to understand the magnitude of the mental health implications.
- Organ concerns: (kidney issues, pancreatitis, gallbladder problems, thyroid concerns, eye problems). Serious, although less common, physical ailments can result from the medicinal treatments. Multiple studies published in the National Library of Medicine discuss ailments like kidney injury, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, and serious liver concerns.
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Pictured: A healthy practice?
Will your current friends still be with you after seven years?
Professor shares how many years a friendship must last before it'll become lifelong
Think of your best friend. How long have you known them? Growing up, children make friends and say they’ll be best friends forever. That’s where “BFF” came from, for crying out loud. But is the concept of the lifelong friend real? If so, how many years of friendship will have to bloom before a friendship goes the distance? Well, a Dutch study may have the answer to that last question.
Sociologist Gerald Mollenhorst and his team in the Netherlands did extensive research on friendships and made some interesting findings in his surveys and studies. Mollenhorst found that over half of your friendships will “shed” within seven years. However, the relationships that go past the seven-year mark tend to last. This led to the prevailing theory that most friendships lasting more than seven years would endure throughout a person’s lifetime.
In Mollenhorst’s findings, lifelong friendships seem to come down to one thing: reciprocal effort. The primary reason so many friendships form and fade within seven-year cycles has much to do with a person’s ages and life stages. A lot of people lose touch with elementary and high school friends because so many leave home to attend college. Work friends change when someone gets promoted or finds a better job in a different state. Some friends get married and have children, reducing one-on-one time together, and thus a friendship fades. It’s easy to lose friends, but naturally harder to keep them when you’re no longer in proximity.
Some people on Reddit even wonder if lifelong friendships are actually real or just a romanticized thought nowadays. However, older commenters showed that lifelong friendship is still possible:
“I met my friend on the first day of kindergarten. Maybe not the very first day, but within the first week. We were texting each other stupid memes just yesterday. This year we’ll both celebrate our 58th birthdays.”
“My oldest friend and I met when she was just 5 and I was 9. Next-door neighbors. We're now both over 60 and still talk weekly and visit at least twice a year.”
“I’m 55. I’ve just spent a weekend with friends I met 24 and 32 years ago respectively. I’m also still in touch with my penpal in the States. I was 15 when we started writing to each other.”
“My friends (3 of them) go back to my college days in my 20’s that I still talk to a minimum of once a week. I'm in my early 60s now.”
“We ebb and flow. Sometimes many years will pass as we go through different things and phases. Nobody gets buttsore if we aren’t in touch all the time. In our 50s we don’t try and argue or be petty like we did before. But I love them. I don’t need a weekly lunch to know that. I could make a call right now if I needed something. Same with them.”
Maintaining a friendship for life is never guaranteed, but there are ways, psychotherapists say, that can make a friendship last. It’s not easy, but for a friendship to last, both participants need to make room for patience and place greater weight on their similarities than on the differences that may develop over time. Along with that, it’s helpful to be tolerant of large distances and gaps of time between visits, too. It’s not easy, and it requires both people involved to be equally invested to keep the friendship alive and from becoming stagnant.
As tough as it sounds, it is still possible. You may be a fortunate person who can name several friends you’ve kept for over seven years or over seventy years. But if you’re not, every new friendship you make has the same chance and potential of being lifelong.