Off the Scales: The Inside Story of Ozempic and the Race to Cure Obesity

Description:

The inside story of the creation of Ozempic and its revolutionary impact on public health.

A "cure" for obesity has long been the holy grail for the pharmaceutical industry, one that seemed unattainable until recent breakthroughs in type 2 diabetes research led to the development of Ozempic, a weight loss medication that activates a hormone in the stomach called GLP-1, making people feel fuller for longer. The treatment is so effective that it is already disrupting many industries--from healthcare to fast food to fashion--and it has quickly made its creator, Denmark's Novo Nordisk, the most valuable company in Europe. But the impact of GLP-1s goes far beyond billion-dollar profits; a true long-term cure for obesity could save 40 percent of American adults from dangerous, preventable illnesses. And as more potential benefits emerge, one question looms in the minds of investors, healthcare workers, and politicians: Are these drugs too good to be true?

In Off the Scales, Reuters journalist Aimee Donnellan illuminates the history of a medical breakthrough that is poised to change the world, while raising difficult social questions about inequality and morality. Through original reporting and rigorous research, she forecasts the future of GLP-1s and examines what their explosive popularity tells us about our ideals of beauty and the lengths to which people will go in order to become thin.

Along the way, Donnellan profiles the scientist whose contributions to the discovery of GLP-1 were overlooked, documents her fight for recognition while her colleagues were thrust into the limelight, and offers new insights into the ways that the food and beauty industries made billions while promoting unhealthy and unrealistic body image standards and accelerating the obesity crisis. She also provides firsthand accounts of several early Ozempic users and the transformative effect the drug has had on their weight loss journeys.

Off the Scales is an informative and entertaining study of the unexpected consequences of finally getting what we've wanted for so long.

Brief description: Aimee Donnellan is a columnist at Reuters, where her reporting has focused on the pharmaceutical, airline, and insurance industries since 2017. Previously she was the Sunday Times banking correspondent, and covered the bond market for the International Financing Review. She holds degrees in English and History from the University of Ireland, Galway, and in journalism from the London School of Journalism. She lives in Galway with her wife and two children. Off the Scales is her first book.

Review Quotes:

"Ozempic and the other GLP-1 medications are among the most important medical breakthroughs of our time. Off the Scales captures the many facets of this fast-moving story, including the decades of scientific research that led to their creation, the stories of early patients and the culture change required to understand obesity as a medical condition rather than a character flaw. Donnellan is a gifted storyteller who brings complicated subjects to life and offers a hopeful vision for how these therapies are transforming lives and reshaping our approach to health care."
--Leana Wen, M.D., Washington Post contributing columnist and author of Lifelines

"The creation of Ozempic has changed lives and challenged long-held assumptions about obesity, but it also raises a whole set of new questions. Donnellan chronicles the search for miracles, the ensuing gold rush, the lives impacted, the biases overturned and solidified, and where this paradigm shift will leave us. Off the Scales is the definitive account of a singular global force--essential reading to help us understand what has been unleashed and what may be coming next."
--Andy Slavitt, author of Preventable

"Off the Scales is the fascinating and thoroughly researched story of a medical miracle. Aimee Donnellan has tackled a complex subject--the discovery of GLP-1s--and distilled it into an engaging and deeply compassionate study of a breakthrough that is poised to change society, for better or worse (or maybe both). An essential read for our times."
--Jonathan Cohn, author of The Ten Year War and Sick

"Aimee Donnellan provides a riveting and impeccably researched deep-dive into the murky world of drug development and casts a light on the little-known characters who have dedicated their lives to rewriting the rules of science. Off the Scales also chronicles the decades-long clash of titans between the bulging fast food industry and the powerful weight loss industry--and introduces us to the almost-too-good-to-be-true drug that may well end it all. Ultimately, the book presents a scathing critique of the big corporations that have shamelessly leveraged people's insecurities to get rich, and offers a mixed prognosis for the future: Ozempic may hold a world of promise, but there could be a far darker side that we're only just starting to see."
--Josie Cox, journalist and author of Women, Money, Power

"A nuanced view of the transformational promise--for better and worse--of these unsettling medical marvels." --Wall Street Journal

"As a work of reportage, Off the Scales does a wonderful job of explaining the origins of Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs and their dramatic impact on society...Today, a 'cure' has arrived, and this book captures the enormity of that moment. The question now is whether these drugs can actually make the country healthier, and not just thinner." --Washington Examiner

"Like all great tales of scientific discovery, the weight loss saga is rich in serendipity, rivalry and obsession--all of which Donnellan recounts with relish...Commendably, she is careful not to treat the GLP-1 drugs an unalloyed good. She addresses their side-effects, such as severe nausea, and their use by non-obese people to the potential detriment of their health." --The Guardian

"An enlightening debut history of Ozempic and its societal impact...Donnellan cogently sizes up its future potential: GLP-1 could lead to a healthier population empowered to demand healthier foods and living conditions, or it could further expand the gulf between rich and poor. An astute, fair-minded primer." --Publishers Weekly

"A tangled plot stuffed with big money, towering egos, and innovative science, capably told and without an ounce of flab." --Kirkus

"Donnellan has performed a public service by taking down the first draft of history: by speaking to the main players and untangling the rivalries and disputes. This is not, though, the final word. The story of Ozempic has only just begun." --The Times of London