{"id":4772,"date":"2026-04-02T09:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T08:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/?p=4772"},"modified":"2026-04-02T09:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T08:38:08","slug":"the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/","title":{"rendered":"The hidden cost of miracle cures"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr Peter Carter<\/p>\n

GLP\u20111 weight\u2011loss drugs are promoted as life\u2011changing treatments. They help people lose weight quickly and offer a sense of control that many have not felt before. But is this view too short-termist?<\/p>\n

The central issue is durability. These drugs work while people take them, but the benefits can evaporate when treatment stops. Weight commonly returns and sometimes rapidly. If meaningful results depend on taking these medications for the longer term, patients deserve to know that upfront. So, are we advising patients to commit to taking these medications forever? When and how should they be advised to stop? These questions don’t seem resolved.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a problem of fairness. Access to these drugs is already uneven. People in wealthier areas are more likely to start treatment at lower weights, and those who can afford private care can begin earlier and continue for longer. If the real benefits of these drugs require ongoing use, then inequality shifts from who can start to who can stay on them. Those with fewer resources may be left cycling between brief improvements and rapid relapse.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the rise of \u201cenhancement\u201d use\u2014people taking the drugs for aesthetic reasons rather than medical need\u2014risks diverting resources from those who face the greatest health burdens and have to be in a worse situation to access them.<\/p>\n

None of this means GLP\u20111 drugs shouldn\u2019t be used. They offer real help to many, but their benefits depend on long\u2011term commitment. Access to treatment should be fair and policies should prevent new inequalities from forming.<\/p>\n

Paper title<\/strong>: Reversibility and indefinite treatment: implications for consent and widening inequalities \u2013 a response to Ryan and Savulescu<\/a><\/p>\n

Author<\/strong>: Dr Peter Carter<\/p>\n

Affiliations<\/strong>: School of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University<\/p>\n

Competing interests<\/strong>: None to declare<\/p>\n

Social media:<\/strong> @padder1.bsky.social<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dr Peter Carter GLP\u20111 weight\u2011loss drugs are promoted as life\u2011changing treatments. They help people lose weight quickly and offer a sense of control that many have not felt before. But is this view too short-termist? The central issue is durability. These drugs work while people take them, but the benefits can evaporate when treatment […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":522,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bioethics"],"yoast_head":"\nThe hidden cost of miracle cures - Journal of Medical Ethics blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The hidden cost of miracle cures - Journal of Medical Ethics blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Dr Peter Carter GLP\u20111 weight\u2011loss drugs are promoted as life\u2011changing treatments. They help people lose weight quickly and offer a sense of control that many have not felt before. But is this view too short-termist? The central issue is durability. These drugs work while people take them, but the benefits can evaporate when treatment [...]Read More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Journal of Medical Ethics blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-02T08:38:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"kathrynlm\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"kathrynlm\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"kathrynlm\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0f1306b41a17e2f5cfcceadf41c9659b\"},\"headline\":\"The hidden cost of miracle cures\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T08:38:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":309,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Bioethics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\\\/\",\"name\":\"The hidden cost of miracle cures - Journal of Medical Ethics blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T08:38:08+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/02\\\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The hidden cost of miracle cures\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/\",\"name\":\"Journal of Medical Ethics blog\",\"description\":\"A blog to discuss the ethics of medicine in its many guises and formats.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Journal of Medical Ethics blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/files\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/jme-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/files\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/jme-logo.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":50,\"caption\":\"Journal of Medical Ethics blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0f1306b41a17e2f5cfcceadf41c9659b\",\"name\":\"kathrynlm\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9087873e57dd15cf6f3cf524505c41b8b7bcb7e83150c6a8b741de754a090ff1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9087873e57dd15cf6f3cf524505c41b8b7bcb7e83150c6a8b741de754a090ff1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9087873e57dd15cf6f3cf524505c41b8b7bcb7e83150c6a8b741de754a090ff1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"kathrynlm\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/author\\\/kathrynlm\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The hidden cost of miracle cures - Journal of Medical Ethics blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The hidden cost of miracle cures - Journal of Medical Ethics blog","og_description":"By Dr Peter Carter GLP\u20111 weight\u2011loss drugs are promoted as life\u2011changing treatments. They help people lose weight quickly and offer a sense of control that many have not felt before. But is this view too short-termist? The central issue is durability. These drugs work while people take them, but the benefits can evaporate when treatment [...]Read More...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/","og_site_name":"Journal of Medical Ethics blog","article_published_time":"2026-04-02T08:38:08+00:00","author":"kathrynlm","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"kathrynlm","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/"},"author":{"name":"kathrynlm","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/#\/schema\/person\/0f1306b41a17e2f5cfcceadf41c9659b"},"headline":"The hidden cost of miracle cures","datePublished":"2026-04-02T08:38:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/"},"wordCount":309,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Bioethics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/","name":"The hidden cost of miracle cures - Journal of Medical Ethics blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-02T08:38:08+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/04\/02\/the-hidden-cost-of-miracle-cures\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The hidden cost of miracle cures"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/","name":"Journal of Medical Ethics blog","description":"A blog to discuss the ethics of medicine in its many guises and formats.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/#organization","name":"Journal of Medical Ethics blog","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/files\/2026\/04\/jme-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/files\/2026\/04\/jme-logo.png","width":200,"height":50,"caption":"Journal of Medical Ethics blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/#\/schema\/person\/0f1306b41a17e2f5cfcceadf41c9659b","name":"kathrynlm","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9087873e57dd15cf6f3cf524505c41b8b7bcb7e83150c6a8b741de754a090ff1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9087873e57dd15cf6f3cf524505c41b8b7bcb7e83150c6a8b741de754a090ff1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9087873e57dd15cf6f3cf524505c41b8b7bcb7e83150c6a8b741de754a090ff1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"kathrynlm"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/author\/kathrynlm\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/522"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4772\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}