GLP-1 use is skyrocketing worldwide; 11% of American adults say they take these medications, compared to only 3% in 2024, according to a Gallup poll.
The prescription can be used to treat type 2 diabetes (its original use), obesity, as well as to lower blood pressure and decrease the risk of heart disease. Many healthcare professionals and GLP-1 users consider these medications “miracle workers” because they improve health in multiple ways.
Yet President Donald Trump, who has taken steps to make GLP-1 drugs cheaper, often seems to reduce them to an insult. He often refers to medications as “big shots” or “big shots,” language he has used for months when telling the story of a friend who “takes the ‘big pill’ or the ‘big shot'” and is apparently talking about the same friend taking the “big drug.”
At best, his use of the word “fat” is flippant and crude. At worst, it stigmatizes a community that regularly faces unfair treatment.
To understand what Americans think about Trump’s nicknames for the drug, we asked GLP-1 users and healthcare professionals for their opinions.
These responses have been edited and condensed for clarity.
“I’m less concerned about its wording…but more about our government’s inability to cover these drugs most of the time through Medicaid.”
“GLP-1s are phenomenal drugs. Obviously, not just for weight loss, but also for diabetes, heart disease and sleep apnea.
And I don’t really care much about the way Trump talks. We already know he’s not the most classy person and uses a lot of stigmatizing and dehumanizing language when it comes to women, immigrants, and people he disagrees with. So calling it “the big move” doesn’t surprise me.
I’m less concerned about his wording, or what he calls the drug, but more about our government’s inability to cover these drugs mostly through Medicaid. I would prefer that Trump focus less on calling it a “big shot” and (instead) propose more legislation between himself and Congress to make Medicaid actually cover these life-saving drugs for patients who have obesity problems but can’t get them. – Dr. Eric Burnett, internal medicine physician at an academic medical center in New York and social media health communicator
“Presenting this class of drugs as ‘fat injections’ is not only fatphobic, but also undermines all of the benefits and uses of these drugs. »
“GLP-1s have a ton of different applications. They were initially approved by the FDA for type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, but have since been approved for many other things, including obesity, sleep apnea, etc., with added benefits like reduced risk of heart disease.”
Presenting this class of drugs as “big shots” is not only fatphobic, but it also diminishes all of the benefits and uses of these drugs, which I think will make them seem more like vanity drugs rather than how they actually treat real health problems. –Kylie Pomaikaiokalani
“The way he speaks only spreads more stigma and shame.”
“I think these are surprising words from the leader of the free world, and no different from the insensitive and unempathetic things he has done in the past, like making fun of people with disabilities.
In a few instances, Trump referred to GLP-1 drugs as “fatty drugs” during briefings on lower drug prices. I want to point out that TrumpRX has been a good coupon website to collect coupons for GLP-1s. I think Trump has done things to help lower GLP-1 prices, but I really think he’s being insensitive in the way he’s discussed it.
We know he doesn’t lead with kindness and empathy. We know that in reality, the way he speaks only spreads more stigma and shame against a population that has only been treated this way before – with humiliation and shame.” –Dr. Elizabeth Kazarian, Virginia family and obesity medicine physician
Burak Kara via Getty Images / UCG via Getty Images
“This framework reinforces the idea of obesity as a kind of moral failure.”
“(Trump’s) widespread and casual use of these terms reflects fatphobia and shows how this form of societal marginalization is normalized. It overlooks the real effects of obesity on psychological and physical health and pathologizes obese people.”
Calling GLP-1 drugs “big drugs” or “big shots” is an extension of fatphobia to the drugs themselves. He views effective treatment as something shameful, much like the way obesity is treated.
This framework reinforces the idea of obesity as a kind of moral failure, not the result of a confluence of societal and contextual factors – food deserts where people only have access to highly processed, high-calorie foods, infrastructure that prioritizes driving over walking or cycling, lack of safe spaces to exercise, jobs that do not allow employees to take care of their own health, and the chronic stress of living in a society with a limited social safety net.
Policies in all of these areas have contributed to the obesity epidemic, and downplaying obesity with these stigmatizing nicknames for GLP-1 misrepresents what is actually a public health crisis rooted in structural conditions. – Dr. Oni Blackstock, primary care physician and HIV specialist, founder and executive director of Health Justice, a racial equity and health consulting firm.
“I don’t care what that idiot says about them or anything else.”
“Obesity is a complex, multifaceted, chronic disease, and GLP-1s correct a metabolic problem. They are a life-saving drug for many people. I hate the stigma around them and the way they are treated, but if we’re talking about him specifically, I don’t care what this idiot says about them or anything else.” –Cindy Mello
“’Inflammatory’ remarks from Trump and the general public are creating an unnecessary culture of shame around a life-changing ‘anti-inflammatory’ drug.”
“I was put on GLP-1 to treat my insulin-resistant PCOS/PMS and fatty liver disease. However, the biggest benefit was an unexpected side effect of reducing the inflammation of my endometriosis.
It has been more effective in reducing my daily pain and giving me back my life than any other invasive treatment or medication I have tried, while having the lowest risk of side effects.
Many people with autoimmune diseases report similar successes, and “inflammatory” remarks from Trump and the general public are creating an unnecessary culture of shame around a life-changing “anti-inflammatory” drug.” -Krysta Berning Nunn
Douglas Sacha via Getty Images
“We already have enough problems in the country with body image, from ‘too skinny’ to ‘too heavy’ and everything in between.”
“My husband is diabetic and takes it to better control his A1C. In fact, he lost very LITTLE weight from this injection.
There should be no stigma around this product or any medication that helps you improve your health. We already have enough problems in the country with body image, from ‘too skinny’ to ‘too heavy’ and everything in between.” –Kelly Kuntz
“He can call them whatever he wants. That doesn’t change the fact that they were a true miracle to me.”
“He can call them whatever he wants. It doesn’t change the fact that they were a true miracle for me.
After years of trying everything, changing my diet, cutting out processed foods, high fructose corn syrup, different diets, HCG injections, keto and nothing works – 22 months later I have lost over 130 pounds and have my life back.
I believe the obesity epidemic in this country begins with what is in our food, which is regulated by the very institution that limits access to GLP-1. It is not an alternative to healthy eating and exercise, but rather a combination and not a quick fix. –Heather McClary Philpot
“I wish more people knew that it’s not an ‘easy’ path. It’s not.”
“Look…I’m on GLP-1, and I don’t care what you call it. If I let the WORDS affect me, I’d still be bothered, and who has time for that? I’m just here, living my life.
Call it what you want, I don’t care. I wish more people knew that this is not an “easy” solution. This is not the case. I had to completely change my eating habits.
Those who say all you need is diet and exercise have never had diet and exercise not work for them. Losing weight is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Why should we stay overweight when we have this wonderful tool to use to our advantage? » –Jennifer J. Beard
“He is not informed on this issue like others.”
“He is not informed on this issue like others. GLP-1s are used for a myriad of conditions, not just weight loss.” –Amanda Brown-Mini
The original version of this story was published on HuffPost earlier.
Gn Health
