{"id":832003,"date":"2026-07-28T19:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T19:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/832003\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T19:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T19:10:13","slug":"doctors-and-glp-1-users-respond-to-trumps-fat-drugs-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/832003\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctors And GLP-1 Users Respond To Trump’s ‘Fat Drugs’ Comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

The use of GLP-1s is skyrocketing throughout the world; 11% of American adults report taking the medications<\/a>, up from just 3% in 2024, according to a Gallup poll<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The prescription can be used to treat Type 2 diabetes (its original use), obesity and also lower blood pressure and decrease the risk<\/a> of heart disease. Many healthcare workers and GLP-1 users consider these medications to be \u201cmiracle workers\u201d as they improve health in myriad ways.<\/p>\n

Yet, President Donald Trump<\/a>, who has taken steps to make GLP-1 medications cheaper<\/a>, often seems to reduce them to an insult. He often refers to the medication as \u201cfat shots\u201d or \u201cfat drugs<\/a>,\u201d language he\u2019s been using for months as he tells stories of a friend who \u201ctakes the \u2018fat pill\u2019 or the \u2018fat shot\u2019\u201d<\/a> and talks about seemingly the same friend who takes the \u201cfat drug.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

At best, his use of the word \u201cfat\u201d is flippant and rude. At worst, it stigmatizes a community that regularly faces unfair treatment.<\/p>\n

To understand how Americans feel about Trump\u2019s nicknames for the medication, we asked GLP-1 users and medical professionals for their thoughts.<\/p>\n

These responses have been edited and condensed for clarity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m less concerned about his phrasing … but rather our government\u2019s inability to cover these medications most of the time through Medicaid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGLP-1s are phenomenal medications. Obviously, not just for weight loss, but for diabetes and heart disease and sleep apnea.<\/p>\n

And I don\u2019t really put much stock in the way Trump talks. We already know that he isn\u2019t the most elegant person, and he uses a lot of stigmatizing and dehumanizing language when it comes to women and immigrants and people he doesn\u2019t agree with. So, calling it \u2018the fat shot\u2019 doesn\u2019t surprise me.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m less concerned about his phrasing, or whatever he calls the medication, but rather our government\u2019s inability to cover these medications most of the time through Medicaid. I would rather Trump focus less on calling it the \u2018fat shot\u2019 and [instead put] more legislation forward between him and Congress to actually get Medicaid to cover these these life-saving medications for patients who are having issues with obesity, but can\u2019t get it covered.\u201d \u2015 Dr. Eric Burnett<\/a>, an internal medicine doctor at an academic medical center in New York and a health communicator on social media<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTo frame this class of drugs as \u2018fat shots\u2019 is not only fatphobic, but also flattens all of the benefits and uses of these medications.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGLP-1s have a ton of different applications. They were originally FDA-approved for Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance but have since been approved for so many other things, including obesity, sleep apnea, etc., with additional benefits like reduced risk of heart disease.<\/p>\n

To frame this class of drugs as \u2018fat shots\u2019 is not only fatphobic, but also flattens all of the benefits and uses of these medications, which I think in turn will make them seem more like vanity drugs instead of how they actually address real health conditions.\u201d \u2015Kylie Pomaikaiokalani<\/p>\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t just about \u2018fat.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been taking weekly shots for nearly two years to control my A1C. I haven\u2019t lost a pound from it, but my A1C dropped from 10.99 to 6.2 and is holding steady. It isn\u2019t just about \u2018fat.\u2019\u201d \u2015Pogue Mahone<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way that he\u2019s expressing himself just propagates further stigma and shame.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think those are surprising words coming from the leader of the free world, and not different from insensitive, un-empathetic things that he\u2019s done in the past, like mocking people for disabilities.<\/p>\n

In a few instances, Trump referred to GLP-1 medications as \u2018fat drugs\u2019 during briefings about lowering drug prices. I do want to point out that TrumpRX has served as a good coupon website to gather coupons for GLP-1s. I think Trump has done things to help lower the prices of GLP-1s, but I definitely think he\u2019s insensitive with the way that he\u2019s discussed it.<\/p>\n

We know he doesn\u2019t lead with kindness and empathy. We know that, in reality, the way that he\u2019s expressing himself just propagates further stigma and shame towards a population that has only been treated that way before \u2014 with humiliation and shame.\u201d \u2015Dr. Elizabeth Kazarian<\/a>, a family and obesity medicine physician in Virginia<\/p>\n

\"Donald<\/p>\n

Burak Kara via Getty Images \/ UCG via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Donald Trump commonly calls GLP-1 medications \u201cfat drugs\u201d or \u201cfat shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis framing reinforces the idea of obesity as some sort of moral failing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[Trump\u2019s] rampant and casual use of these terms reflects fatphobia and shows how normalized this form of societal marginalization is. It discounts the real psychological and physical health effects of obesity and pathologizes people with obesity.<\/p>\n

Calling GLP-1 medications \u2018fat drugs\u2019 or \u2018fat shots\u2019 is an extension of fatphobia to the medications themselves. It treats an effective treatment as something shameful, akin to how obesity is treated.<\/p>\n

This framing reinforces the idea of obesity as some sort of moral failing, not as the result of a confluence of societal and contextual factors \u2014 food deserts where people only have access to highly processed, high-calorie foods, infrastructure that prioritizes cars over walking or biking, lack of safe spaces to exercise, jobs that don\u2019t allow employees to care for their own health and the chronic stress of living in a society with a scant social safety net.<\/p>\n

Policies across all of these areas have contributed to the obesity epidemic, and minimizing obesity with these stigmatizing nicknames for GLP-1s mischaracterizes what is actually a public health crisis rooted in structural conditions.\u201d \u2015 Dr. Oni Blackstock<\/a>, a primary care and HIV physician who is the founder and executive director of Health Justice<\/a>, a racial and health equity consulting company.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t give a f**k what that idiot says about them or anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cObesity is a complex, multifaceted, chronic disease, and GLP-1s correct a metabolic issue. They are a lifesaving medication for many people. I hate the stigma around them, and the way they\u2019re treated, but if we\u2019re talking about him specifically, I don\u2019t give a f**k what that idiot says about them or anything else.\u201d \u2015Cindy Mello<\/p>\n

\u201cThe \u2018inflammatory\u2019 remarks by Trump and the general public are creating an unnecessary culture of shame around a life-changing \u2018anti-inflammatory\u2019 medication.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was put on a GLP-1 to address my insulin-resistant PCOS\/PMOS and fatty liver disease. However, the largest benefit has been an unexpected side effect of the inflammation reduction for my endometriosis.<\/p>\n

It has been more effective at reducing my daily pain and giving me my life back than any other invasive treatment or drugs I have tried, while also having the lowest side effect risk.<\/p>\n

Many people with autoimmune conditions are reporting similar success, and the \u2018inflammatory\u2019 remarks by Trump and the general public are creating an unnecessary culture of shame around a life-changing \u2018anti-inflammatory\u2019 medication.\u201d \u2015Krysta Berning Nunn<\/p>\n

\"GLP-1<\/p>\n

Douglas Sacha via Getty Images<\/p>\n

GLP-1 medications are considered to be \u201cmiracle drugs,\u201d but the people who use them often face judgment from non-users.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe already have enough issues in the country with body image, from \u2018too skinny\u2019 to \u2018too heavy\u2019 and everything in between.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband is diabetic and takes it to control his A1C better. He has actually lost very LITTLE weight with the shot.<\/p>\n

There shouldn\u2019t be any stigma around this or any drug that helps you improve your health. We already have enough issues in the country with body image, from \u2018too skinny\u2019 to \u2018too heavy\u2019 and everything in between.\u201d \u2015Kelly Kuntz<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can call them whatever he wants. It doesn\u2019t change the fact that they have been nothing short of a miracle for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can call them whatever he wants. It doesn\u2019t change the fact that they have been nothing short of a miracle for me.<\/p>\n

After years of trying everything from changing diet, removing processed foods, high fructose corn syrup, different diet plans, HCG shots, keto and nothing working \u2014 22 months in and I\u2019ve lost over 130 pounds and gained my life back.<\/p>\n

I believe that the obesity epidemic in this country starts with what\u2019s in our food, which is regulated by the very institution that limits access to GLP-1s. It\u2019s not meant as an alternative to healthy diet and exercise, but in combination with and not a quick fix.\u201d \u2015Heather McClary Philpot<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish more people knew this wasn\u2019t the \u2018easy\u2019 way. It\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cListen\u2026 I\u2019m on a GLP-1, and I don\u2019t care what anyone calls it. If I let WORDS affect me, I\u2019d stay bothered, and who has time for that? I\u2019m just out here living my life.<\/p>\n

Call it what you want to call it, I don\u2019t care. I wish more people knew this wasn\u2019t the \u2018easy\u2019 way. It\u2019s not. I had to change my eating habits entirely.<\/p>\n

Those who say all you need is diet and exercise have never had diet and exercise not work for them. Losing weight isn\u2019t a one-size-fits-all. Why should we stay overweight when we have this wonderful tool to use to our benefit?\u201d \u2015Jennifer J. Beard<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is uninformed on this issue like he is on others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is uninformed on this issue like he is on others. GLP-1s are used for myriad conditions, not just weight loss.\u201d \u2015Amanda Brown-Mini<\/p>\n