Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine

From the New York Times bestselling author of The End of Overeating comes a powerful new understanding of the disease of obesity, including the promise—and peril—of weight loss drugs. By the year 2030, almost half of Americans will struggle with obesity and its related health conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and more. It is a health care crisis that starves people of years and quality of life, and yet for decades overweight people have been given the wrong advice—or none at all. Medical bias has left many feeling judged or left behind, and in the meantime, they have suffered. Doctors, dieticians, and society have long told us that it’s all our fault, that to struggle with weight is a moral failure. Now New York Times bestselling author and former FDA commissioner Dr. David A. Kessler urges us to reject this narrative. In Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine, Dr. Kessler sets the record straight, sharing new evidence that obesity is not just a disease of the body, but one that starts in the brain. In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Kessler—a lifelong public health advocate—explains how processed food has changed our brain chemistry, creating both an addiction to highly rewarding food and compulsive cravings that cause us to eat more. But this change doesn't have to be permanent. Illuminating cutting-edge research on the many factors that influence weight—from neuroscience to nutrition—Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine explains why maintaining weight loss is almost insurmountably difficult; and what we can learn from addiction science and eating disorder recovery protocols to forge a new way forward. Dr. Kessler also offers a clear-eyed view of the recent, much-publicized pharmaceuticals promoted as a solution to obesity, advancing a critical examination of this new class of drugs. While these pills will offer a panacea to some, they also carry serious and potentially long-term risks that must be seriously investigated before we regard them as a sustainable option. Eye-opening, provocative, and empowering, this book is a must-read for anyone who has ever struggled to maintain their body weight—which is to say, everyone.