In a presidency marked by destructive health decisions, President Donald Trump’s proposal to lower prices for popular weight-loss drugs, known broadly as GLP-1s, is a rare bright spot. It’s unclear how much consumers will save under Trump’s plan, but if he succeeds at expanding access to these medications, he could help millions of Americans with treating chronic diseases.
As exciting as these drugs might be, however, it’s important not to oversell them. Their far-reaching benefits have spawned endless speculative uses, from treating addiction to fighting cancers.
Steven D. Pearson, a physician and bioethicist who studies drug cost-effectiveness, told me that examining this sort of “off-label” use could be very valuable down the road.
Less helpful, however, are people experimenting with GLP-1s for unproven uses. Telehealth start-ups and wellness clinics are aggressively promoting the medications for everything from brain fog to sex drive to “metabolic optimization.” Wellness influencers are pushing these drugs as a kind of “longevity” medication that could purportedly reduce inflammation and promote health benefits ….
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In these cases, people are getting ahead of the science.
