Highly recommend to anyone that is curious about healthy living and eating. This book is a deep dive into diet culture, including the recent trend of weight loss drugs. I enjoyed learning about the various topics this book covered, including how food overconsumption is an addiction. The author did not cast any judgment on the various options for weight loss, but instead provided a full overview of what each one entailed and even discussed the likelihood of maintaining a healthy weight after stopping the weight loss drugs.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy of the ebook of this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an electronic ARC so that I could provide my own opinion.

After finding "The End of Overeating" fascinating and eye-opening, I was eager to read David Kessler’s latest, and I wasn’t disappointed. "Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine" is divided into four well-structured sections—Addiction, The New Understanding of Energy and Weight, The Path to Sustainable Weight Loss, and The Road Ahead, plus a thoughtful epilogue that I read first. Kessler brings clarity and honesty to complex issues, which I appreciate.

The book is informative and timely, especially as we confront a broken food system and rising reliance on GLP-1 medications for weight management. While I understand these drugs may be life-changing for some, it saddens me that our culture and economy have made them necessary at all. I believe strongly in supporting health through natural means—good sleep, movement, real food, stress management—but I also recognize that for some, medication may be necessary.

That said, the book’s tone does seem a bit too favorable toward GLP-1s for my comfort. Still, this is a thoughtful and important read that offers a lot to reflect on, especially in 2025, when federally funded institutions are being dismantled and those that remain are being staffed with unqualified people.

I encourage anyone who wants to know more about food and health, especially as it relates to weight, to read this.

In Diet Drugs and Dopamine, former FDA commissioner David A. Kessler delivers a deeply researched and eye-opening exploration of one of the most pressing health issues of our time: the collision of modern food systems, addiction science, and the pursuit of weight loss.

Kessler unpacks the peril of living in a society engineered for overconsumption—where ultra-processed foods dominate our plates and our physiology is no match for the dopamine-driven lure of abundance. He makes a compelling case that what we often frame as personal failure is, in fact, a biologically and socially rigged game. The result? A public health crisis marked by skyrocketing rates of obesity, food addiction, and poor metabolic health.

Timely and balanced, the book also provides a nuanced analysis of the new wave of weight loss drugs like GLP-1 agonists. Kessler acknowledges their promising potential for reducing weight and improving metabolic markers, but he’s clear: these drugs are not a magic bullet. Instead, they are just one tool—possibly a life-changing one—for a condition shaped by biology, behavior, and a broken food environment. He also sounds a cautionary note on the growing pharmaceutical pipeline, urging greater regulatory oversight and long-term safety studies.

Whether you’re a clinician, policymaker, or simply someone navigating your own relationship with food and health, Diet Drugs and Dopamine is an essential, sobering, and ultimately empowering read.

Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine by David A. Kessler, M.D.

If you are ever considering using one of the new class of GLP-1 weight loss drugs or you have had a medical professional suggest you do so, this book could help you decide whether the risks are worth it to you. I don't have a use for this drug in my life but my fascination with nutrition and how the body handles food, using it to both help and harm the body, got a boost of information from what I learned here. I feel like this book is mostly pro GLP-1 weight loss drugs because the drugs can be lifesaving for those who have no other options. But as we learn of the things that they can do to help the body, we also get something similar to the miles long drug fact sheets of side effects and risks similar to what comes with prescription drugs, except this book makes the information easier to understand and more interesting than those dry fact sheets.

These drugs can be deadly, bring on lifelong disabilities, and can have side effect that have most people quitting them within a short time. Which is a problem when these drugs fall in the area of “forever” drugs that are supposed to be taken for the rest of one's life. They only work while you are taking them and once you stop taking them you are right back where you started. The book does mention some have had success with an on again, off again approach to the drugs but I would think that kind of approach could have it's drawbacks, too.

When used the way the drugs are supposed to be used, during the "getting to ideal weight period" a person can be in a state of starvation or semi starvation which is devasting to the body. Yet this process might be necessary for very critical health issues such as fatty liver disease, diabetes, or morbid obesity. Even once one has reached maintenance and the drugs are adjusted to keep a person from losing more weight, it can be a challenge to stay healthy since the drugs take away the desire to eat and/or have side effects that make eating unpleasant. Malnutrition can be a problem without supervision.

Some doctors do not inform their patients well enough about the risks of the drugs so picking a doctor who understands the drugs and is willing to share all sides of the benefits and perils of taking the drugs is very important. An informed patient is the best kind in my opinion although I know I frustrate some doctors by all the questions I have and because I expect to be totally involved in my health care choices. This book really lays facts out there to allow one to know that this type of drug needs to be considered very carefully and with all the facts at hand. The drugs have done good things for many people who had no other option although the very long term side effects can't be known yet since the drugs are still so new to the market.

So many other things need to be heeded when using these drugs but then that is true for those who don't use the drugs. Maintaining a healthy weight and maintaining a healthy attitude to food is a lifelong necessity if we are going to have healthy bodies. Physical activity is necessary as it the best mindset to not letting food control everything we do. The book explains the emotional, mental, and physical side of finding the right balance we need to be and stay healthy and for some people that can only come with the help of a certain type of drug.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the gifted copies of both the print book and the ebook of this ARC.

In Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine, Dr. David A. Kessler delves into the complexities of body weight, offering a revolutionary perspective on weight loss and the science behind it. Drawing from his personal struggles with weight and extensive research, Kessler presents the new class of GLP-1 weight loss drugs as a breakthrough in understanding and treating obesity. These drugs work by targeting the brain’s craving centers, taming the addictive circuits that contribute to overeating and food cravings. However, Kessler emphasizes that while these drugs offer real promise, they should be part of a broader strategy that includes nutrition, behavior modification, and physical activity. With a focus on the addictive nature of ultra-processed foods, Kessler reframes the struggle with weight as a form of addiction, and the path to lasting weight loss involves addressing this at its root. Eye-opening and rigorously researched, this book offers readers a new framework for understanding weight loss—one that challenges societal biases, highlights the medical community's role, and provides practical tools for achieving long-term health. This is a must-read for anyone who has ever struggled with their weight or sought a deeper understanding of how to break free from the cycle of dieting.

This book was pretty good. It is hard to judge a scientfic book like this since everyone has a body that works differently. We all react to certain stimulus in different ways, so I cannot believe this is a one-size-fits-all type of help book. It was still very interesting!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Thank you for the opportunity to advance read the new book Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine by David Kessler, MD. This book was well researched and provided a wealth of information about obesity, brain science, and recent advances in weight loss medications. I especially appreciated the information about our history with processed foods, techniques for re-wiring the brain for weight loss, and the information about GLP-1 medications. As someone who has tried almost everything to lose weight and finally jumped off the yo-yo diet train, I find the GLP-1 meds to be yet one more fad in a long line of diet industry fads. Because of this I have stayed far away from information regarding these medications. I appreciated that the author recognized both the benefits and drawbacks of the medications and the current over-use of the meds due to celebrity endorsements. This is a good book for anyone looking for a well-researched book on obesity and weight loss.