TrialTracker_MD said:

Metabolic syndrome resolution on cardiovascular risk: I went from meeting 3 of 5 diagnostic criteria to meeting ZERO after 11 months of treatment.

This is where I part company with the consensus forming above. The "earlier than weight loss explains" argument is weaker than this thread makes it sound. Blood pressure and inflammatory markers move fast and are downstream of early weight loss, so the mechanism is not as cleanly separable as the summaries imply.

DataDave ↑ said:

My reason for being on this is cardiovascular rather than cosmetic, which puts me in a small minority in most of these threads.

DataDave ↑ said:

...we're creating a generation dependent on cardiovascular risk...

I understand the concern, but consider this analogy: are we "creating a generation dependent on" blood pressure medication? Cholesterol medication? Thyroid medication?

Obesity is a chronic disease with biological drivers. Treating it with medication is no different from treating any other chronic condition. The "dependency" framing implies weakness or moral failure — neither of which is accurate.

If ongoing medication is what keeps someone healthy, that's successful treatment, not dependency.