Your Metabolism Isn’t Broken
And are GLP-1 Drugs Changing More Than Just Our Weight?
I’ve heard it over and over. “My metabolism is broken—that’s why I’m overweight.”
But wait. Do metabolisms actually break? And if they do, how do you fix them? Can they be repaired with medication, or is a “broken” metabolism something you’re stuck with for life?
Before we go any further, let’s define what metabolism actually is—because it’s not just some mysterious force that determines whether we gain or lose weight.
Metabolism is the sum of all the chemical reactions in the body that keep us alive. It’s how we convert food into energy, regulate body temperature, repair cells, and manage everything from digestion to hormone production. In short, metabolism isn’t just about burning calories—it’s about how efficiently the body runs.
Metabolism adapts to its environment, keeping us alive. If we eat more, it speeds up to handle the extra energy. If we eat less, it slows down to conserve resources. This is why extreme diets often backfire. When the body senses prolonged calorie restriction, it lowers its metabolic rate to prevent starvation. This isn’t a sign of a “broken” metabolism but a protective response designed to keep us alive and thriving.
Even if metabolism were fragile enough to break, what happens when we introduce external influences, such as GLP-1 receptor agonists such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro? Do these medications actually fix anything, or do they just change the way metabolism behaves?
It’s time to take a step back and dispel the myth that metabolisms break. Believing that myth shapes our thoughts about weight loss, health, and our choices.
Then, let’s go a little deeper. What if being overweight influences something even more fundamental—our genes?
Genes are like tiny instruction manuals inside every cell, shaping everything from eye color to how efficiently we burn calories. But here’s the thing—those instructions aren’t set in stone. They respond to the environment, turning certain processes on or off based on what the body is experiencing. This is called epigenetics, and it’s a big deal.
It means that what we eat, how much we move, how stressed we are, and even what medications we take can influence the way our genes behave—not just for us but potentially for future generations.
This brings us to a bigger question: What happens when we use medication to “fix” metabolism? Could it be sending signals to our genes that reshape metabolism not just for us but also for our children and grandchildren?
And even if having kids isn’t on your radar, epigenetics still matters—because it doesn’t just shape who comes after us, but who we become. The choices we make today influence how our bodies function years from now, affecting metabolism, aging, and even long-term disease risk. Chronic stress, for example, leaves epigenetic marks that can increase inflammation, making weight loss harder and raising the risk of conditions like heart disease and diabetes. On the flip side, positive changes—like exercise and nutrient-dense foods—can actually reverse some of these negative epigenetic effects, helping metabolism stay flexible as we age.
This isn’t science fiction. Research on metabolism and epigenetics suggests that the effects of external interventions—especially those that alter hunger, energy use, and fat storage—can last longer than expected, possibly shifting metabolic function in ways we don’t fully understand yet.
If you're taking GLP-1s, considering them, or trying to lose weight or fix your “broken metabolism,” read on. What you decide today will likely influence the future long after you are gone.
Let’s dive in.
Metabolism Is a System Designed for Adaptation, Not Failure
Metabolism is not a static process that simply stops working. When our metabolism stops working, we die. It’s really that simple. However, metabolism is a highly responsive regulatory system that continuously adjusts based on energy intake, physical activity, stress levels, and other environmental factors.
When food intake decreases, resting energy expenditure declines to conserve energy. This has been observed in long-term calorie restriction studies, such as the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, where participants experienced metabolic slowdowns as a survival response. When physical activity increases, metabolic pathways shift to preferentially oxidize fat or carbohydrates depending on availability. Chronic stress and poor sleep disrupt hormonal regulation, increasing cortisol levels, which in turn affects insulin sensitivity and fat storage patterns.
These adaptations have been critical for human survival. The body does not randomly stop functioning—it responds to the signals it receives.
Epigenetics: How the Environment Shapes Future Generations
Genetics plays a role in metabolism, but gene expression is highly influenced by external factors. The field of epigenetics studies how environmental conditions—such as nutrition, stress, and medications—can modify gene activity without altering the DNA sequence itself. These changes can be passed down to future generations, affecting health outcomes long after the initial exposure.
Two of the most well-known studies on the long-term effects of environmental influences on metabolism are the Dutch Hunger Winter Study and the Norrbotten Study.
The Dutch Hunger Winter Study: Starvation in the Womb Alters Lifelong Metabolism
During the winter of 1944-1945, a severe famine struck the Netherlands, exposing pregnant women to extreme calorie deprivation. Researchers followed the children born to these women and found that prenatal famine exposure led to lifelong metabolic consequences. These individuals had a significantly higher risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Their bodies were metabolically programmed to store fat more efficiently, likely an adaptation to the famine conditions experienced in utero.
Epigenetic analysis of these individuals revealed persistent changes in gene expression related to metabolic regulation. These alterations persisted for decades, suggesting that prenatal nutrition has a profound and lasting effect on how the body processes energy.
The Norrbotten Study: Grandparents' Diet Determines Grandchildren’s Health
The Norrbotten Study, conducted in Sweden, examined the impact of food availability on health outcomes across multiple generations. Researchers found that the diet of individuals during critical developmental periods, particularly puberty, influenced the metabolic health of their grandchildren.
Boys who had abundant food during puberty had grandsons with shorter lifespans and a higher risk of diabetes. In contrast, boys who experienced food scarcity during puberty had grandsons who lived longer and had lower rates of metabolic disease. These findings suggest that environmental conditions can induce genetic modifications that persist for at least two generations.
The key insight from both studies is that metabolism is not simply an individual experience—it is shaped by past genes and the environments of past generations and programmed for the future.
What Does This Mean for GLP-1s and Metabolism?
If temporary famine conditions can alter metabolic function across generations, what happens when appetite suppression and metabolic manipulation are introduced pharmacologically through GLP-1 drugs?
Researchers have yet to fully explore several potential long-term questions, or if they have, I have not found them.
Could GLP-1 receptor agonists be programming a new metabolic set point that extends beyond the individual using the drug?
If metabolism adapts to food scarcity, could the appetite suppression induced by GLP-1 drugs create a similar metabolic response that persists after discontinuation?
Are hunger signals and energy balance being altered in ways that future generations could inherit?
Research on metabolic reprogramming suggests that these concerns may not be unfounded.
One study found that GLP-1 receptor agonists alter dopamine signaling in the brain, which may lead to lasting changes in food preferences and cravings. Another study in rodents suggested that GLP-1 drugs could induce persistent changes in hypothalamic function, the brain region responsible for regulating hunger and energy balance. In the broader field of metabolic medications, studies have shown that diabetes drugs such as metformin can induce heritable changes in gene expression related to glucose metabolism, even after the drug is discontinued.
Additionally, human studies on famine survivors indicate that severe calorie restriction during early life can epigenetically program metabolism in future generations, increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes. Given that GLP-1 drugs lead to significant caloric reduction, it is possible to trigger similar intergenerational effects.
The Future of Human Metabolism: Are We Creating a New Baseline?
Metabolism has always adapted to environmental conditions. For most of human history, those conditions were dictated by natural factors—food availability, physical activity, and stress levels. Today, those conditions are increasingly shaped by pharmaceutical and technological interventions.
With the widespread use of GLP-1 drugs, ultra-processed foods, and sedentary lifestyles, it is worth considering whether we are engineering a new metabolic norm. If previous generations' diets shaped the metabolic health of their descendants, it stands to reason that today's interventions could have similar effects.
Science does not fully understand how pharmacologically altering appetite and metabolic regulation will impact long-term health or future generations. The studies on famine and epigenetics suggest that metabolic manipulation has consequences that extend beyond the immediate moment.
Supporting Metabolic Health Without Outsourcing It to Drugs
If metabolism is an adaptive system rather than a broken one, then the focus should be on providing it with the right conditions to function optimally.
Maintain a stable energy balance with nutrient-dense whole foods rather than relying on extreme calorie restriction.
Build muscle through resistance training to improve mitochondrial efficiency and metabolic flexibility.
Manage stress and prioritize sleep to prevent chronic cortisol elevation, which disrupts insulin regulation and fat storage.
Understand genetic predisposition without letting it dictate health outcomes. Epigenetics shows that lifestyle choices influence which genes are activated.
Final Thoughts on Metabolism
Metabolism is not failing; it is responding to the inputs it receives. The real question is whether we are working with our body’s natural intelligence or overriding it with artificial interventions.
If famine conditions and nutritional scarcity can program metabolic responses for generations, then the increasing reliance on pharmacological appetite suppression may have effects that extend far beyond the individuals taking the drug.
This is not about rejecting medical interventions outright but about considering the long-term implications before assuming there are no consequences. If metabolism is always adapting, the choices made today may shape not just individual health but the metabolic health of future generations.
Medications can be powerful tools, but they don’t work in isolation. They interact with the body's intricate systems in unexpected ways. Changing metabolism with a drug isn’t just flipping a switch; it’s rewriting the body’s instructions in ways that may have lasting effects for us and future generations.
But think about this, too. When we turn to medications alone, we miss out on the bigger benefits that come from working with the body instead of overriding it. A simple walk outside doesn’t just burn calories—it strengthens the heart, exposes us to sunlight for vitamin D, engages the brain, improves balance, and even lifts our mood. The same is true for nourishing food, strength training, deep sleep, and stress relief. Each lifestyle intervention offers more than one benefit—they work in harmony with the body, creating a ripple effect of health in ways no pill or injection can.
So before handing the reins over to a medication, it’s worth asking: What if your metabolism isn’t broken at all? What if it’s just waiting for the right conditions to thrive? If that’s the case, then maybe the best intervention isn’t just about weight loss—it’s about creating a life that naturally supports health from every angle.
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