Deeply fascinating read for those learning about GLP-1s, although many of the language choices discussing plus size people were unfortunate. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

Ozempic, and its semaglutide sisters, is certainly a hot button topic lately. These medications have been highly successful in terms of their promised outcomes as well as the profit they have amassed. I was curious to learn more about how these drugs work, the downsides to taking them (the author cites 12) and the long term impacts. The book’s author actually bases the book, in part, on his own personal experience plus much in depth research and analysis. I found the book to be quite balanced and it provided great arguments in favour of these drugs but also important points that countered these. Plus, the author takes a big step back and looks at the macro implications of these drugs and if they will truly solve the larger issues caused by the predatory food industry and cultural eating habits.

I found this book to be really informative and captivating. I particularly liked the chapter that explored Japanese culture and delved into what the Japanese are getting so right in this realm, and how their habits can factor into making meaningful and long term change in Western society.

The one thing I would have liked to hear in this book is a medical perspective on these medications, in addition to that of a journalist, albeit one that did thorough research.

I had read Johann Hari's previous book, Stolen Focus, so I was intrigued to read this one. He is a journalist, so this book is not a full medical treatment of obesity or weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic. Instead, it is his memoir of personally taking Ozempic for weight loss, as well as a look at the obesity epidemic and other ways to treat it. According to Hard, food-caused illnesses are estimated to be the leading cause of death, when you consider that heart disease, cancer and dementia all have a strong diet and lifestyle component. Over 42% of adults in the US are now obese, so it is incumbent on us to figure out why this happened and how to cure it. Hari looks at much of this in the book.
He looks at how Ozempic and related drugs works, as well as its benefits and side effects. Unfortunately no one knows that long term side effects of taking these drugs and once started, they usually need to be taken for life or else the weight returns. Hari suggests, and I agree, that we need to radically change the foods we eat. Our diet needs to consist of substantially more whole foods and very few processed foods. One chapter looks at the Japanese food and health culture. Japanese people have the longest life span of anyone on earth, and they remain healthier longer with many fewer heart attacks and cancers. Their society has many factors that help them reduce obesity and improve health. Unfortunately it may be difficult for the US to implement many of these changes because the processed food industry has a huge influence over both government and media.
The pharmaceutical industry also holds a huge sway over both government and media. They have a financial interest in keeping people sick and tied to medications for a lifetime. As a nutritionist I do not recommend that people use weight-loss drugs until they have exhausted the diet and exercise means available to them. I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in health and nutrition.
I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGally.

Johann Hari’s book Magic Pill is a must-read for anyone considering using any of the recent influx of weight-loss medications:. Hari has done extensive research going to the beginning of the GLP1 trials, and the book follows his own weight-loss journey through years of successes and setbacks and personal discovery as to why weight has always been such an issue. His honesty is refreshing and I share in the frustration as he does of why some people never seem to be concerned with calories and others do. He is also very honest in his assessment of the newer weight loss treatments in that they do carry warning labels for a reason.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Crown Publishing for and advance copy on this new book about losing weight, magic cure-alls, profit, food, and the mental instability that we give ourselves for trying to live up to ideals, that might impossible.

I have always been on the portly side. Sometimes more than portly. I have in the past lost tremendous amounts of weight. And found them not as quickly, but slowly overtime. I blame this on my depression, lack of willpower and lack of motivation, which is odd in that I enjoyed exercising, walking, and even doing obstacle courses when I was slimmer. And I have never really fixated on food, as much as most people do. I do a lot of my own cooking, and don't really eat out or have fast food. I can go a whole work day without eating, and not be bothered. Which always bothered me. And like everyone I always wished for a magic spell that would make me fit, and well handsome, as being fat has always left me with a well poor body image. Johann Hari has had some of the same struggles, and feelings and in his latest and most personal work Magic Pill, discusses weight, losing it, keeping it off, the mess we have made of foods, the genetics of body size, and what a magic pill can do, both good and bad for so many people.

Johann Hari was very much like me, portly most of his life. Plus he loved food. Alot. During the pandemic he might have been without people, but he was not without Uber Eats, and gained some weight. At a Hollywood party he was surprised to see so many thin people, and was told about the new wonder pill Ozempic. Designed for diabetes, a side effect was found that it was great for weight loss, a lot of weight loss. Concerned about health issues, Hari began to take Ozempic, and noticed immediate results, some good, some not. Yes he lost weight, but he lost his taste for food, and the comfort that food gave him. Hari also lost motivation in many ways, and had many side effects. And also was faced with the fact that for all his talk about health, and losing weight, vanity had a very significant part in his reasons. Hari began to investigate he world of weight, why we lose, why it comes back, and genetics that might stop us from losing. Hari looks at the world of processed foods, and how awful it is, as compared to a country like Japan, that has a healthy relationship with food. As, Hari learns about the science of weight, he learns just as much about himself, sometimes not being happy with what he has discovered.

Johann Hari is probably one of my favorite nonfiction writers. I am not sure if it is the personal way in which he writes, the subjects that have all been of interest, and that I have learned so much. What I think I really enjoy and respect is the dogged way he will try to get answers to questions that it seems no one has asked, or even thought of. Maybe questions these experts, and medical professionals don't want to face. When a drug company like Eli Lilly doesn't want to answer questions about drugs that are making them billions, well there must be a reason. Hari looks at weight loss from a view I have not seen before, from real loss. The death of a friend from complications in health, maybe due to weight bothered Hari deeply. And made him think the best of this magic pill, even with all the side effects. Yet, while taking this, Hari still wanted to know more. And why.

After reading this I am not even tempted in the slightest for magic pills. There are fairy tales, and their are morality plays where actions have consequences. And a magic pill probably have consequences. At one point Hari discusses a study, that showed that even on Ozempic people were starting to gain weight, but the study ended, so the results are inconclusive. So there might not be a magic pill, but what I learned was to pay a little bit more attention to what I put on my plate. And who knows, simple steps might lead to big weight loss. Another fascinating book by Hari, who drops hints about his next book, which sounds just as great.

Oh boy! If your weight is affecting your health, this is a must-read. If you're sick of yo-yo dieting, read this book. If you're considering using some of the new diet drugs, read this first.

Whether you are overweight because of genetics, addiction to food, health issues, or personal choice, get this careful study. Hari examines obesity, the consequences and liabilities of being perceived as "fat" in Western culture, and the weight-loss drugs that make "the new skinny" a first-time reality for many.

I was introduced to Johann Hari through Stolen Focus, his exposé of digital addiction. It blew me away and changed my habits. (Read that review here.)

Now here comes a startling review of another current crucial issue. But Hari's writing style is compelling and readable. He highlights the advantages, risks, and unknowns of what's been unleashed in the world.

Let me say this: I am not the target market for Ozempic or the other diet drugs. Yet be forewarned. I stayed up late into the night to finish this one. And I included the subtitle above for clarity (which I rarely do).

The book contains information and implications you need to know, either for yourself or to share with others.

Read it if you or someone you care about is struggling with excess weight.