What does the future of weight loss look like — and what do weight-loss injections mean for our understanding of a healthy life? As part of the DenkReise series at the Haus für junges Denken at the University of Bonn, associated with the Center for Life Ethics, SFB1454 researcher Prof. Dr. Dagmar Wachten explored these questions in a discussion entitled “Schlank gespritzt – gesund gelebt? Zukunft des Abnehmens zwischen Medizin, Ethik und Gesellschaft” (“Slimmed by Injection – Living Healthy? The Future of Weight Loss between Medicine, Ethics and Society”).

Her talk covered the obesity pandemic, the profound changes brought about by our modern digital lifestyle, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and how weight-loss medications work. She also addressed the ethical questions raised by new pharmaceutical options: When does health become self-optimization? Could social pressure to lose weight increase? How can we prevent further stigmatization — and what does fair access to these medications look like?
The discussion also highlighted that obesity, metabolism, metaflammation and healthy lifestyles are not only biomedical issues. They also raise important ethical and societal questions. By bringing the perspective of obesity and metaflammation research into this interdisciplinary conversation about the future of health, Dagmar Wachten connected current biomedical research with broader questions about how we understand health and shape its future.
Together with the audience, Dagmar Wachten explored three possible scenarios for the future of weight loss — from a pharmaceutical society to a vision of holistic health and a future shaped by markets and optimization. The lively participation and final audience vote showed just how much these questions resonate beyond the laboratory.

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