Weight-loss drug Ozempic is like magic but has risks, author Johann Hari says. Is it more dangerous than being obese?
- British writer Johann Hari quickly shed 19kg (42lb) on Ozempic, which fights obesity by stealing your appetite, but could come with serious health risks
- Thyroid cancer and kidney problems have been linked to the drug, but with a family history of heart disease, being obese is risky too. Hari’s mind is made up
Ask Johann Hari why he called his book about the new weight-loss drugs Magic Pill, and the British author and journalist offers an intriguing three-part answer.
First, he says the weight seemed to fall off as if by “magic”, and so swiftly; Hari lost 19kg (42lb) in less than a year, dropping from 92kg to 73kg.. Instead of consuming 3,200 calories daily, he was having less than 1,500.
It was, he says, “physically shocking” to lose so much weight so fast. The average weight loss for users is from 15 to 20 per cent of their body weight.
Second, he says, there was something disturbing in Ozempic’s power, as if, he explained, “you were witnessing a conjuror perform a trick and at the same time picking something from your pocket”.
Third, he says, taking Ozempic was rather like finding the genie’s lamp in Aladdin, rubbing it to make a wish, but then finding what transpired wasn’t quite what you wished for – or wasn’t quite what you expected.
