Ozempic and Determinism
Up until now, I thought being an unhealthy weight was a function of will power. I had the willpower to exercise and to not overeat, and other people could learn that. It’s been well documented that the heritability of obesity was 40-70%, but I somehow disregarded that and thought I was a healthy person out of sheer mental fortitude.
Ozempic has obviously been a hot topic, and it can be seen as cheating somewhat. I didn’t oppose anyone to using it because I want people to be healthier, but I thought of it as cheating as well. Peter Attia, the podcaster, really opened up my mind on how to view it.
The heritability of obesity has never been understood. For a long time, it was thought to be that some people have natural higher resting metabolic rates. And although that that is true, it’s only a few hundred calories of variation which wouldn’t explain obesity. Metabolism increasing supplements didn’t move the needle, but GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic have significant improvements and they work on the satiety signals. So now it’s hypothesized that the genetic differences in weight are from differences in satiety.
But regardless of cause, we have drugs now that can fight something that we’re genetically predisposed to. Attia points out, many people have to take pharmaceuticals to combat genetic predispositions to high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I’m on drugs for both of those. No one calls that cheating. Ozempic is no different.
In “Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will,” Sapolsky makes a methodical case for Determinism and lack of Free Will. Despite its methodicalism, it’s still hard to comprehend the ramifications of lacking Free Will. He, however, makes a compelling case for a weak Determinism.
When we are born, a lot of who we become is restricted. Twin and mendelian randomization studies show how much our physical and mental traits are genetic. No matter hard I tried, I could never be an NBA basketball player. And if I were born in a third world country, the opportunities available to me would not nearly be the same.
Does that mean that my life is Deterministic? I’m not sure, it’s just hard to really grasp. But what that does mean is to be more compassionate with other people. The lesson is the same as I had with Ozempic. Some people may have problems outside of their control. And probably we all do.