The Complexity of Weight Loss Drugs (Johann Hari)

May 9, 2024

Author and journalist Johann Hari discusses societal perceptions of weight and sin, critiquing extreme weight loss methods and the glorification of suffering. He delves into his conflicted views on new weight loss drugs, explores genetic influences on weight gain, and compares US and Japanese food habits. The conversation highlights the emotional and physical impact of medications on weight loss, advocating for a scientific approach to managing weight.

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Introduction

00:00 • 2min

Weight Loss Drugs: Complexities and Controversies

02:28 • 25min

Transformative Medals and Frustrations with Obesity Choices

27:22 • 6min

Impact of Genetic Factors and Dietary Habits on Weight Gain

33:10 • 17min

Balancing Benefits and Risks of Obesity Treatment

50:00 • 3min

Exploring the Emotional and Physical Impact of Medications and Weight Loss

52:57 • 20min

Navigating Transparency in Beauty Standards

01:13:17 • 9min

Exploring the Intersection of Drugs, Appetites, and Social Issues

01:22:08 • 4min

“I realized I think there's a few things that are in our heads that are so deep in the culture. One of them is the idea that being overweight is a sin. It goes right back to if you look at Pope Gregory I in the 6th century when he first formulates the seven deadly sins, gluttony is there, it's always depicted with some fat person who looks monstrous, overeating. And how do we think about sin? If being overweight is a sin, we think sin requires punishment before you get to redemption. The only forms of weight loss that we admire are where you suffer horribly, right? You think about The Biggest Loser, that horrid, disgusting game show. If you go through agony, if you starve yourself, if you do extreme forms of exercise that devastate your body, then we'll go, he suffered. We forgive you. Well done. We'll let you be thin now, right?”

So says Johann Hari, author of many bestselling books—Stolen Focus, Lost Connections, and Chasing the Scream. Johann is a fellow cultural psychic and his latest book—the subject of today’s conversation—bears this out. He takes on drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro in Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs. He also writes about his own relationship to these drugs, as Johann is taking them. His book is a subtle and sensitive navigation of what is a tightly bound convergence of health and culture—and every page of his book anticipates and precedes the conversation. (As a disclaimer, I’m in it.) We talk about all of it in today’s conversation, along with what would have happened if a woman had written this book first.

MORE FROM JOHANN HARI:

Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs

Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again

Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope

Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs

Johann’s Website

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