Society's portrayal of overweight individuals, like Monica in Friends, once fueled stigma. Today, drugs like Ozempic signal a shift toward viewing obesity as a medical condition.
Introducing 'Off the Scales': The Ozempic Story
Aimee Donnellan, Reuters columnist, authored Off the Scales: The inside story of Ozempic and the race to cure obesity. The book covers the highs and lows of GLP-1 drugs, which mimic the gut hormone glucagon-like peptide-1. Donnellan argues these medications will transform medicine.
The Obesity Crisis Demands Action
Obesity is projected to affect over half the world's population by 2050. In the UK, it could cost health services up to £10 billion annually. Traditional advice like more exercise or self-control has failed, as has shaming.
- Genes play a strong role in obesity—we don't choose them.
- Early-life trauma links to weight gain.
- Junk food marketing thrives in food deserts, low-income areas lacking healthy options.
Donnellan shares moving case studies of people facing illness due to their size, despite weight loss efforts.
How Ozempic and GLP-1 Drugs Work
Approved in the US for type 2 diabetes at the end of 2017, Ozempic (semaglutide) induces weight loss as a side effect. It reduces appetite, slows stomach emptying, and may quiet 'food noise'—persistent cravings.
Treating obesity medically, like cancer or asthma, offers real hope. Users typically lose around 15% of body weight.
