Off the Scales
| Author | Aimee Donnellan |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
Publication date | November 18, 2025 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | 978-1250389060 |
Off the Scales: The Inside Story of Ozempic and the Race to Cure Obesity is a 2025 book by journalist Aimee Donnellan.
Critical reception
Kirkus Reviews gave the book a positive review, saying that it was a "rich, even action-packed narrative of medical discovery... capably told and without an ounce of flab."[1] Publishers Weekly described the book as "enlightening... an astute, fair-minded primer on the drug."[2]
Writing in The Guardian, British palliative physician Rachel Clarke gave the book a positive review, noting that "one of the great strengths of Reuters journalist Aimee Donnellan’s first book is its insistence on framing the discovery of the new weight-loss drugs within the fraught social and cultural context of beauty norms, body image and health."[3] Writing in The Wall Street Journal, David A. Shaywitz of the Harvard Medical School praised the book for delivering "a nuanced view of the transformational promise — for better and worse — of these unsettling medical marvels."[4]
Alexandra Thompson of The New Scientist gave the book a mildly positive review, applauding Donnellan for her portrayal of obesity as a medical condition and for "driving home the message that drug development is rarely done for philanthropic reasons," but criticising the book for having "some fairly slow sections" and for not touching on the limitations of GLP-1 drugs.[5]
References
- ^ "Off the Scales". Kirkus Reviews. 24 October 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
- ^ "Off the Scales: The Inside Story of Ozempic and the Race to Cure Obesity". Publishers Weekly. 9 February 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
- ^ Clarke, Rachel (15 January 2026). "Off the Scales by Aimee Donnellan review – inside the Ozempic revolution". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
- ^ Shaywitz, David A. (28 November 2025). "'Off the Scales' Review: The Dawn of Ozempic". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
- ^ Thompson, Alexandra (14 January 2026). "As Ozempic goes global, a powerful book reframes how we see obesity". The New Scientist. Retrieved 14 January 2026.