Let’s set aside the basic moral argument and my aversion to people being given things they haven’t earned, which you may also share. Over time, I’ve actually softened my stance on this. It simply isn’t within everyone’s power—reasonable power—to be in good shape. A child has no control over what its parents feed it. The decision to raise a child on a diet of ultra-processed food, starting with formula instead of breastmilk, can essentially set it up to fail for life. An overweight or obese child raised on ultra-processed food will continue eating ultra-processed food as an adult and face problems around eating that a child raised on proper home-cooked food will not.
In the UK, the average two- to five-year-old now derives two-thirds of his or her daily calories from ultra-processed food. The U.S. isn’t far behind that dismal figure.
I am taken aback at the rapid adoption of these drugs.
