ACX
The Compounding Loophole
Scott Alexander examines how compounding pharmacies are producing cheaper versions of GLP-1 agonist drugs, exploring the economics, safety, and future implications of this practice.
12 min read 1,780 words
A thread through the archive
obesity
Essays tagged “obesity”. Follow an idea across the archive.
Essays on obesity
19 essaysACX
Why Does Ozempic Cure All Diseases?
Scott Alexander examines the surprisingly broad effects of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, exploring their mechanisms and speculating on why they seem to impact so many different conditions.
29 min read 4,403 words
ACX
Highlights From The Comments On Semaglutide
Scott Alexander summarizes and responds to comments on his post about semaglutide, covering corrections, additional information, and user experiences with the weight loss drug.
41 min read 6,260 words
ACX
Semaglutidonomics
Scott Alexander analyzes the economic and societal implications of semaglutide, a new effective weight loss drug, and its potential to reshape obesity treatment.
28 min read 4,293 words
SSC
For, Then Against, High-Saturated-Fat Diets
The post explores a controversial theory linking saturated fats to weight control, critically examines the evidence, and discusses the paradox of historical vs. modern diets and obesity rates.
27 min read 4,099 words
SSC
Anorexia And Metabolic Set Point
Scott Alexander speculates that anorexia might be caused by a distorted metabolic set point, similar to but opposite of obesity's mechanisms.
12 min read 1,770 words
SSC
Book Review: The Hungry Brain
Scott reviews 'The Hungry Brain' by Stephan Guyenet, exploring the neuroscience of eating behavior and obesity, presenting a model focused on brain regulation of body weight.
46 min read 7,076 words
SSC
Link: Guyenet On Taubes
Scott Alexander reviews Stephan Guyenet's critique of Gary Taubes' anti-sugar book, agreeing with Guyenet's multi-factorial view of obesity and disease causes, and retracting his previous support for Taubes.
7 min read 1,067 words
SSC
Thin Air
Scott examines the relationship between altitude and obesity, then explores and ultimately dismisses the theory that increased atmospheric CO2 could be causing the obesity epidemic.
12 min read 1,809 words
SSC
I Wrote A Blog Post, But Did Not Adjust For The Fact That The Title Would Be Too L
Scott Alexander critiques a study on fathers' influence on sons' obesity, highlighting statistical flaws and misleading publicity, while exploring the broader challenge of identifying genuine parental effects.
11 min read 1,569 words
SSC
Links 6/15: URLing Toward Freedom
Scott shares various interesting links and findings, including studies on education and IQ, brain simulation challenges, obesity surgery outcomes, and various cultural curiosities.
10 min read 1,470 words
SSC
Links 8/15: A Link In The Armor
A collection of interesting links spanning scientific research, politics, economics, and culture, with brief commentary from Scott Alexander on each item.
15 min read 2,290 words
SSC
The Physics Diet?
Scott Alexander examines different theories of weight gain, focusing on the roles of metabolism and appetite/exercise drive, and concludes that individual metabolic differences likely play a significant role in weight management.
10 min read 1,475 words
SSC
Society Is Fixed, Biology Is Mutable
Scott Alexander argues that biological solutions to societal problems may be more effective and easier to implement than social interventions, challenging common perceptions about mutability of human characteristics.
7 min read 935 words
SSC
The Poor You Will Always Have With You
Scott Alexander argues that ancient Rome's welfare system was similar to modern progressive policies in causes and outcomes, despite different philosophical justifications.
18 min read 2,740 words
SSC
Science & Medicine Links for August
Scott Alexander presents a roundup of recent scientific and medical studies, covering topics from hallucinations to obesity genetics to schizophrenia treatment.
10 min read 1,438 words
SSC
Holocaust Good For You, Research Finds, But Frequent Taunting Causes Cancer In Rats
Scott Alexander contrasts two studies with opposite conclusions about stress, highlighting the inconsistency in how we interpret adversity's effects.
7 min read 1,084 words
SSC
Medical and Psychological Studies for June
Scott Alexander presents a roundup of recent medical and psychological studies, covering topics from UV light exposure to belief in science during stress.
8 min read 1,118 words
LW
Diseased thinking: dissolving questions about disease
Scott argues that debates about whether conditions like obesity are "real diseases" are ultimately questions about sympathy, blame, and treatment that should be addressed directly rather than through the misleading disease framework.
19 min read 2,929 words