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

《瘦瘦針革命：體態焦慮餵養出的千億帝國》
這是一段關於「瘦瘦針」Ozempic 誕生過程及其對公共健康帶來革命性影響的內幕故事。

「治癒肥胖」長久以來一直是製藥產業夢寐以求的聖杯——一個看似遙不可及的目標。直到近年第二型糖尿病研究取得突破，才促成「瘦瘦針」Ozempic 的誕生。這是一種減重藥物，能活化腸胃中的一種荷爾蒙——GLP-1，使人更長時間感到飽足。

這項療法的效果之顯著，已開始擾動多個產業——從醫療照護、速食產業到時尚界——並迅速讓其研發公司、丹麥的諾和諾德（Novo Nordisk），成為歐洲市值最高的企業。然而，GLP-1 類藥物的影響力遠不止於數十億美元的利潤；若能真正實現長期有效的肥胖治療，或許能讓 40% 的美國成年人免於罹患可預防、卻危及生命的疾病。

隨著愈來愈多潛在益處浮現，一個問題也開始在投資人、醫療人員與政治人物心中浮現：這些藥物是否好得令人難以置信？

在《Off the Scales》一書中，路透社記者 艾蜜・唐納倫（Aimee Donnellan） 揭示了這項足以改變世界的醫療突破背後的歷史，同時也拋出關於不平等與道德的艱難社會提問。透過第一手的調查報導與嚴謹研究，她不僅預測 GLP-1 藥物的未來發展，也深入探討這股爆炸性熱潮，究竟反映了我們對「美」的何種想像，以及人們為了變瘦願意付出多大的代價。

在書中，唐納倫描繪了一位 其對 GLP-1 發現做出關鍵貢獻、卻長期被忽視的科學家，記錄她在同僚被推上鎂光燈時，為爭取應有肯定所展開的奮鬥。同時，她也提出嶄新觀點，揭露食品與美容產業如何在推動不健康、非現實的身體形象標準之下，賺進數十億美元，並加速全球肥胖危機的惡化。

此外，書中也收錄了多位早期「瘦瘦針」Ozempic 使用者的第一手敘述，呈現這款藥物如何徹底改變他們的減重歷程。

《Off the Scales》是一部兼具資訊性與娛樂性的研究之作，深入探討 當我們終於得到了長久以來渴望的「解答」，所引發的一連串意想不到的後果。

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.