Unlike with thalidomide, if any serious side effects start showing up with these drugs they are likely to be uncommon events, simply because millions of people have been using them for at least a few years now, and despite lots of scrutiny, we're not seeing high percentages of people developing problems. However, given how many people are taking these medications, even a side effect which only affects a tiny percentage of people will be hurting many.

Regarding the other point you brought up, I certainly agree that diabetes and obesity have multiple causes, including significant social factors, and that we should be paying attention to fixing those.