Is that really how all of them work? In the case of ECA, I thought it was due to increased metabolism. But it might also have an effect on appetite.
And even when it is, is that good enough? It’s possible for dietary changes to promote weight loss, but still be unhealthy. If you just eat junk food, and then the drugs reduce your appetite so you eat less food, but it’s still junk food, then technically that’s “dietary changes”, but you’re still not getting the micronutrients, fiber, prebiotics, and possibly bacteria that you would from fruits and vegetables. To the extent that the poor health is caused by excess Calories, it helps. But to the extent that poor health is caused by eating the wrong things, then simply eating less of them can only go so far.
Of course, I expect that using the prescription drugs as directed would be a last resort after dietary improvements prove insufficient, but doctors can only do so much to influence behavior.
Whoops, sorry, I don’t actually know anything about ECA. Possibly that’s how it works, at least partially! I’m pretty sure it’s true that stimulants are appetite suppressants, but it’s also possible it has another mechanism of action having to do with non-exercise activity thermogenesis or similar.
Anyway: the way I was thinking about this is, obesity is caused by excess calories. That being the case, there’s no particular reason to anticipate obese people wouldn’t be getting appropriate amounts of fiber/micronutrients/etc; or at very least, I have not heard anyone make such a case.
So while it’s definitely true that drugs wouldn’t help with nutritional deficiencies, it’s also not clear to me that this is necessarily relevant to the health impacts of obesity.
Is that really how all of them work? In the case of ECA, I thought it was due to increased metabolism. But it might also have an effect on appetite.
And even when it is, is that good enough? It’s possible for dietary changes to promote weight loss, but still be unhealthy. If you just eat junk food, and then the drugs reduce your appetite so you eat less food, but it’s still junk food, then technically that’s “dietary changes”, but you’re still not getting the micronutrients, fiber, prebiotics, and possibly bacteria that you would from fruits and vegetables. To the extent that the poor health is caused by excess Calories, it helps. But to the extent that poor health is caused by eating the wrong things, then simply eating less of them can only go so far.
Of course, I expect that using the prescription drugs as directed would be a last resort after dietary improvements prove insufficient, but doctors can only do so much to influence behavior.
Whoops, sorry, I don’t actually know anything about ECA. Possibly that’s how it works, at least partially! I’m pretty sure it’s true that stimulants are appetite suppressants, but it’s also possible it has another mechanism of action having to do with non-exercise activity thermogenesis or similar.
Anyway: the way I was thinking about this is, obesity is caused by excess calories. That being the case, there’s no particular reason to anticipate obese people wouldn’t be getting appropriate amounts of fiber/micronutrients/etc; or at very least, I have not heard anyone make such a case.
So while it’s definitely true that drugs wouldn’t help with nutritional deficiencies, it’s also not clear to me that this is necessarily relevant to the health impacts of obesity.