May 15, 2025 • 6 mins
Dr. Arthur Caplan speaks with Mendte in the Morning about how big weight loss drugs have gotten and what happens when to most who stop taking them.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's get to doctor Arthur Kaplan, professor of bioethics at
New York University Langone Medical Center. And you know, I
was looking very carefully yesterday during the JFK testimony or
the RFK excuse me, a junior testimony in front of Congress,
because there was a lot of protesters, and I was
looking doctor Caplan to see if you were going to
(00:21):
be there. And I did see one of the co
founders of Ben and Jerry's who was escorted away by police,
but you were missing.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Well, let me add that I think it's a tragedy
to exclude Ben and Jerry's leadership from the hearing. Pretty good,
Pretty good. I wasn't there, but I was certainly there
in spirit. And he didn't have much to say that
would make me jump up and down with enthusiasm. You know,
(00:53):
one of his estulaire who was when he was getting
pressed about his pretty vaccinated his kids, he wound up
saying I wouldn't take medical advice from me. And we
now have finally reached a point of agreement.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
And I think he was saying, I'm not a doctor,
and we know that, you know, as the leading public
health official he gives advice on health steps all the time.
That's his role. He's got to do it. So it
was amusing to hear him finally admit that he probably
isn't somebody who want to listen to. Especially by the way,
(01:30):
let me add one other thing, but he's making his
poor little grandkids swiming a sewer. Did you see that?
Speaker 1 (01:37):
No, he's not. Why is he having him swimming a sewer?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
He went swimming in Rockville Creek over the weekend the
past weekend, which is the sewer outlet for Washington, d C.
And I don't know what he was doing in there,
and he brought his grandkids. It's an e COLI think
that's been on the no swim list. I don't know
forty years by the City of Washington what. I don't
(02:03):
know what he was thinking, what he was doing in there,
but I think the brain worm got him on that one.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
I think I've gone swimming in worse. I think what
the point was he was making. I think the point
that he was making, by the way, was that he
is in charge of policy. He's not a doctor, and
he's not protecting.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
But you know, when you're the nation's HJ just said,
you're gonna be giving advice to groups, not to people,
but to groups of people.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
So come on, But he's gonna be setting policy. Let's
let's see your splitting hairs on this one a little bit.
He's gonna be giving policy. I don't think he's giving
medical advice. That's your job. People who stop weight loss drugs,
will you know? Weight loss drugs are huge right now.
I know so many people who are either taking the
(02:50):
injection or the oral weight loss drug. But this is
a great question. What happens when they stop?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Do they? By the way, let me just get myself
in trouble with all the neighbors. I'm up in Richfield, Connecticut,
so I'm near places like dari Anne, nu Canaan, Westport,
those places. I don't think there's a woman in any
of those towns who's not on these drugs. I mean nobody.
They're all taking them preventively just to lose a few pounds.
(03:21):
You know, this isn't just the people who have struggled
with obesity or diabetes. This is like it's become the
drug of choice. If you can afford it, you find
a doctor and they prescribe it. So you're right, it
is everywhere.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I love the people who deny taking it. That's the
ones I get a kick out of. You know, they
come back a month later and they've lost thirty five
pounds and walking. Yeah exactly, I'm just eating better.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Well. Study came out yesterday kind of depressing people who
go off those drugs have all the weight they lost
put back on within a year. Oh wow. So two
points about that one. This clearly is a drug, at
(04:10):
least the injectible form that is now available, that we're
gonna have to pay for forever. I mean, it's a
big hit on the budget. I once did a little
calculation in my head. If only twenty percent of people
who are obese or overweight went on the drug, it
would cost per year almost something like quarter of a
(04:33):
trillion dollars. At one thousand dollars a shot per week,
excuse me, per month, plus a doctor's visit, it's like
fifteen grand a year. You gotta spend that. That's not
you know, it's not gonna work. Other comment, you gotta
build lifestyle change into the use of this thing. You
can't just keep eating you know, fatty foods and all
(04:54):
the bad stuff and say, well, I'm on the injectable,
I'm not gonna get fat. You do that, you're never
gonna change. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Now that's really disheartening because I would love to get
my hands on one of those drugs. But I would
think then your advice would be, and you know, maybe
we shouldn't take medical advice from you or take but
your advice, I think would be, if you're going to
take this drug, you got to change your habits after you.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Lose exactly exactly. It isn't just what you should do
is use it as a way to jumpstart weight loss. Great,
but then you got to work to change eating and
exercise habits. If you don't do that, you're stuck taking
this stuff forever. And as I keep saying, not cheap.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yeah, what is this story about dozens of Long Island
doctors not being disciplined after months of misconduct? What was
the misconduct and who didn't discipline them?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah? Newsday did a good investigative report. Really the worst
offenders doctors convicted child molestation, etiquette fraud, just terrible stuff.
And the stance of the New York State Licensing Board
was we're gonna keep you in practice, We're gonna try
and use remediation, not loss of your ability to practice.
(06:14):
We're not gonna pull you license. That system is too weak,
Larry it lets. It gives the doctor the benefit of
the doubt too much. I get the idea. You don't
want to ruin a career. I get the idea. Doctors
spend a fortune to get trained. You're convicted of child molestation.
You know how long I think you should have your license?
(06:34):
About a minute?
Speaker 1 (06:36):
No, I completely agree with you. That's horrible. Thank you
so much, doctor, I appreciate your time. Doctor Arthur Caplin, Yeah, absolutely,
Professor of bioethics at New York University Land Going Medical Center,
Let's get to doctor Arthur Kaplan, professor of bioethics at
New York University Langone Medical Center. And you know, I
was looking very carefully yesterday during the JFK testimony or
the RFK excuse me, a junior testimony in front of Congress,
because there was a lot of protesters, and I was
looking doctor Caplan to see if you were going to
(00:21):
be there. And I did see one of the co
founders of Ben and Jerry's who was escorted away by police,
but you were missing.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Well, let me add that I think it's a tragedy
to exclude Ben and Jerry's leadership from the hearing. Pretty good,
Pretty good. I wasn't there, but I was certainly there
in spirit. And he didn't have much to say that
would make me jump up and down with enthusiasm. You know,
(00:53):
one of his estulaire who was when he was getting
pressed about his pretty vaccinated his kids, he wound up
saying I wouldn't take medical advice from me. And we
now have finally reached a point of agreement.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
And I think he was saying, I'm not a doctor,
and we know that, you know, as the leading public
health official he gives advice on health steps all the time.
That's his role. He's got to do it. So it
was amusing to hear him finally admit that he probably
isn't somebody who want to listen to. Especially by the way,
(01:30):
let me add one other thing, but he's making his
poor little grandkids swiming a sewer. Did you see that?
Speaker 1 (01:37):
No, he's not. Why is he having him swimming a sewer?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
He went swimming in Rockville Creek over the weekend the
past weekend, which is the sewer outlet for Washington, d C.
And I don't know what he was doing in there,
and he brought his grandkids. It's an e COLI think
that's been on the no swim list. I don't know
forty years by the City of Washington what. I don't
(02:03):
know what he was thinking, what he was doing in there,
but I think the brain worm got him on that one.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
I think I've gone swimming in worse. I think what
the point was he was making. I think the point
that he was making, by the way, was that he
is in charge of policy. He's not a doctor, and
he's not protecting.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
But you know, when you're the nation's HJ just said,
you're gonna be giving advice to groups, not to people,
but to groups of people.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
So come on, But he's gonna be setting policy. Let's
let's see your splitting hairs on this one a little bit.
He's gonna be giving policy. I don't think he's giving
medical advice. That's your job. People who stop weight loss drugs,
will you know? Weight loss drugs are huge right now.
I know so many people who are either taking the
(02:50):
injection or the oral weight loss drug. But this is
a great question. What happens when they stop?
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Do they? By the way, let me just get myself
in trouble with all the neighbors. I'm up in Richfield, Connecticut,
so I'm near places like dari Anne, nu Canaan, Westport,
those places. I don't think there's a woman in any
of those towns who's not on these drugs. I mean nobody.
They're all taking them preventively just to lose a few pounds.
(03:21):
You know, this isn't just the people who have struggled
with obesity or diabetes. This is like it's become the
drug of choice. If you can afford it, you find
a doctor and they prescribe it. So you're right, it
is everywhere.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I love the people who deny taking it. That's the
ones I get a kick out of. You know, they
come back a month later and they've lost thirty five
pounds and walking. Yeah exactly, I'm just eating better.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Well. Study came out yesterday kind of depressing people who
go off those drugs have all the weight they lost
put back on within a year. Oh wow. So two
points about that one. This clearly is a drug, at
(04:10):
least the injectible form that is now available, that we're
gonna have to pay for forever. I mean, it's a
big hit on the budget. I once did a little
calculation in my head. If only twenty percent of people
who are obese or overweight went on the drug, it
would cost per year almost something like quarter of a
(04:33):
trillion dollars. At one thousand dollars a shot per week,
excuse me, per month, plus a doctor's visit, it's like
fifteen grand a year. You gotta spend that. That's not
you know, it's not gonna work. Other comment, you gotta
build lifestyle change into the use of this thing. You
can't just keep eating you know, fatty foods and all
(04:54):
the bad stuff and say, well, I'm on the injectable,
I'm not gonna get fat. You do that, you're never
gonna change. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Now that's really disheartening because I would love to get
my hands on one of those drugs. But I would
think then your advice would be, and you know, maybe
we shouldn't take medical advice from you or take but
your advice, I think would be, if you're going to
take this drug, you got to change your habits after you.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Lose exactly exactly. It isn't just what you should do
is use it as a way to jumpstart weight loss. Great,
but then you got to work to change eating and
exercise habits. If you don't do that, you're stuck taking
this stuff forever. And as I keep saying, not cheap.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
Yeah, what is this story about dozens of Long Island
doctors not being disciplined after months of misconduct? What was
the misconduct and who didn't discipline them?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yeah? Newsday did a good investigative report. Really the worst
offenders doctors convicted child molestation, etiquette fraud, just terrible stuff.
And the stance of the New York State Licensing Board
was we're gonna keep you in practice, We're gonna try
and use remediation, not loss of your ability to practice.
(06:14):
We're not gonna pull you license. That system is too weak,
Larry it lets. It gives the doctor the benefit of
the doubt too much. I get the idea. You don't
want to ruin a career. I get the idea. Doctors
spend a fortune to get trained. You're convicted of child molestation.
You know how long I think you should have your license?
(06:34):
About a minute?
Speaker 1 (06:36):
No, I completely agree with you. That's horrible. Thank you
so much, doctor, I appreciate your time. Doctor Arthur Caplin, Yeah, absolutely,
Professor of bioethics at New York University Land Going Medical Center,
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