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

The Weight-Loss Revolution Is Here. But At What Cost?

From the bestselling author of Lost Connections and Stolen Focus comes a provocative and deeply personal exploration of the new drugs transforming weight loss—and what they reveal about our society’s complex relationship with food, body image, and health.

In January 2023, Johann Hari began injecting himself with Ozempic, one of the new medications that has sparked a global weight-loss revolution. While traditional diets fail for 80% of people, these drugs promise to help users shed up to a quarter of their body weight in just six months. Some experts predict that within a few years, a quarter of the U.S. population will be on them. To many, they offer freedom from obesity’s deadly risks—diabetes, cancer, and premature death.

Yet Hari was deeply conflicted. Are these drugs truly a breakthrough—or just another illusion? Seeking answers, he traveled from Iceland to Tokyo to Minneapolis, speaking with leading scientists and medical experts. What he discovered was both astonishing and unsettling:

🔹 Twelve major risks that could reshape our understanding of health and metabolism.
🔹 A radical challenge to the ideas of willpower, shame, and obesity itself.
🔹 Unexpected psychological effects as long-standing eating patterns are suddenly disrupted.
🔹 The deeper question—are these drugs a cure, or just another symptom of a broken system?

As these medications reshape our world, it’s essential to understand their true impact—scientifically, emotionally, and culturally. Magic Pill is an eye-opening, must-read guide to a transformation one expert predicts will be as revolutionary as the smartphone.