Over Fifty? The Diet Industry Wants You.

 If you are not yet following Debra Benfield at Aging with Vitality and Body Liberation, you’re missing out. Deb is a trained nutritionist who offers sage advice about loving our bodies as they are. In her July 2025 newsletter she breaks down the ways our natural increase in body size protects us:

“What If I Told You Body Changes in Midlife+ are Protective, Not a Problem?

One of the body’s remarkable adaptations in this season is storing more fat, particularly around the midsection. Here’s why that can be protective, not harmful:

💛 Supports Hormonal Health: After menopause, your body produces less estrogen. Fat tissue steps in to help produce small amounts of estrogen, which continues to support your heart, brain, and bone health.

💛 Protects Bone Health: Higher body weight is linked to better bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.

💛 Provides Energy Reserves: Fat is an energy store that helps your body stay resilient, especially in times of illness or stress.

💛 Cushions and Protects: That soft layer? It literally protects your vital organs as your body ages.

This isn’t weakness. It’s your body working for you.”

Deb’s points are in line with the studies documented in Dr. Carl Lavie’s book, The Obesity Paradox. Lavie points out that body fat shields us from certain diseases later in life and leads to a longer survival time for people with cancer; hence the “paradox” that those classified as “overweight” have a longer average lifespan than those classified as “normal” weight.

So it’s especially insidious that the diet industry is coming for us olders. And of course the industry targets older women in particular, who have been conditioned from childhood to believe that skinny is best.

It’s no secret that the drug companies making GLP-1 antagonists (such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro) generate enormous profits. These drugs typically sell for over a thousand dollars for a monthly supply, but that monthly supply costs under five dollars to manufacture. Novo Nordisk is making so much money that it is suddenly the largest company in Europe and has changed the economy of its home country, Denmark. That kind of income buys a lot of influence, including funding research studies from friendly scientists. Researcher Ragen Chastain (another great person to follow) writes:

“The research around weight and health can be daunting, dense, confusing, and downright misleading. A mix of diet industry involvement and weight bias (from methodology to media reporting) has created a world where what “everybody knows” about weight and health is often not supported by the actual research.”

Questions continue to be raised about the safety of these drugs, for older adults in particular. For example, a 2023 New York Times article pointed out that few older adults were enrolled in the clinical trials for GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss (making it difficult to parse the differential effects on our age group). But those older adults who were enrolled showed an increased incidence of all the adverse events experienced by younger adults in the trials, including fatigue, nausea and vomiting. In addition, older adults are more likely to experience bone and muscle loss while using these medications, which can lead to frailty.

The discussion of risks in that New York Times article is in sharp contrast with recent communications from Alloy, an online company that serves the pharmaceutical needs of older women.

Alloy Women’s Health: A Case Study in Going for the Money

On its LinkedIn page Alloy Women’s Heath says, “Alloy is health empowerment for women over 40, offering straight talk and science-based solutions for women suffering from the symptoms of menopause.” Their original product line consisted of hormone therapy for women unable to obtain that treatment elsewhere—an important service. As Alloy points out on its website, “The 47 million women entering menopause each year are not getting the healthcare solutions they need. In fact, only 6% of women seeking treatment for their symptoms actually get it. How is this possible?”

As generic versions of hormone therapy brought down the prices (and profits) for those menopause treatments, Alloy expanded its original product line to include skin care products with estrogen. And then in April 2025, Alloy announced their physicians will now prescribe GLP-1 weight loss drugs. In its July 7 newsletter, “What Most People Get Wrong about GLP-1s,” Alloy proposed some “Myths” and “Facts,” including these:

MYTH: GLP-1s are unsafe and too experimental
FACT: GLP-1s have been FDA-approved and studied for two decades. When prescribed and monitored by a trained provider, they’re safe and effective. At Alloy, your doctor will tailor treatment to your specific health needs, including medications, menopause symptoms, and long-term goals.

RETHINK: While it’s true that “GLP-1s have been FDA-approved and studied for two decades,” during those two decades these drugs were prescribed for diabetes at about half the dosage now prescribed for weight loss. And dosage makes a huge difference in the safety profile of a drug. As Paracelsus, the founder of toxicology, said, “All things are poisons, for there is nothing without poisonous qualities. It is only the dose which makes a thing poison.” The larger doses of GLP-1s used for weight loss were studied in clinical trials that lasted for only 24-30 weeks.

MYTH: GLP-1s mess with your metabolism in dangerous ways
FACT: During menopause, when metabolism often slows, GLP-1s can help restore balance by improving insulin sensitivity, regulating appetite, and reducing inflammation—leading to real metabolic health improvements beyond the scale.

RETHINK: For older people in particular, GLP-1s can increase the risks of osteoporosis and sarcopenia (muscle loss), potentially leading to frailty. These concerns are not addressed in this newsletter.

MYTH: If you stop taking GLP-1s, you’ll definitely gain everything back
FACT: Lasting weight loss depends on how you lose it. Alloy combines GLP-1 therapy with behavior support, doctor-led check-ins, and long-term tools to help you build sustainable habits. Many people maintain their results—even after tapering off medication—because we focus on real, holistic change.

RETHINK – An analysis of five studies at the University of Oxford showed that people who stop taking GLP-1 drugs regain their original weight in about ten months. The study noted that this rate is more rapid than after ending a conventional diet. In addition, the assertion that changes in behavior lead to a sustained lower weight is not borne out by research. As such, taking GLP-1 drugs for sustained weight loss is likely a lifetime commitment, with no data yet available on the long-term effects of these drugs at the higher doses prescribed for weight loss.

MYTH: You’ll be nauseous or miserable the whole time
FACT: Nausea can happen at first, but it usually fades quickly. Alloy’s doctors start you on a low dose and adjust it gradually to keep side effects to a minimum. You’ll never be left guessing—we’re with you at every step.

RETHINK: An analysis of gastrointestinal adverse events reported to FDA for GLP-1 drugs listed nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pancreatitis, constipation and reflux as the most common. FDA has received reports that in some cases, delayed gastric emptying has not resolved even after discontinuing the GLP-1 medication. Another analysis, this one of neurological adverse events, showed these drugs were associated with dizziness, tremor, lethargy, and other side effects, with a mean time to onset of 32 days.

While each person is unique in their reactions to medication, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that 65% of people using GLP-1 drugs for weight loss discontinued use within one year. Top reasons included adverse events and the cost of the medications. The discontinuation rate was higher for people over 65 years of age.

The Diet Industry Wants You!

There is a big difference between the rosy picture painted in the Alloy newsletter and the reality of taking GLP-1 drugs for weight loss in later life. The motivation for companies like Alloy is clear: Until GLP-1 drugs become available as lower priced generics, there are huge profits to be made selling these drugs to older women. But women after midlife deserve excellent medical care, not profit-driven medical care. Let’s not reduce ourselves to profit centers for the diet industry.