Western world

• Obesity levels for adults have hit 26% in Britain and 42.5% in the United States, journalist Johann Hari writes in his new book, Magic Pill.
• Worried about his health, he says, he accessed Ozempic though a doctor, “after some brief questions and some cursory measuring”.
• Review: Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs – Johann Hari (Bloomsbury)

‘As a GP … this is even better’

• In my opinion, as a GP and a reader, this is even better.
• “This is a mass experiment, carried out on millions of people, and I am one of the guinea pigs,” he writes.
• However, he knows from lived experience and observations gathered through his journalism that the science of obesity is only part of the picture.

‘He does not hold back’

• In particularly, some of us in healthcare, who have developed whiplash from watching weight-loss drugs and diets come and go, will have a great deal of scepticism.
• He does not hold back as he names, considers, explores and then reconsiders the use of this medication in his own life.
• I believe the references to scientific studies, as well as his own personal thoughts, hold up to scrutiny.

Addressing stigma head-on

• He argues that the obesity-promoting environment we are experiencing is something we created over the past 50 or so years – and therefore something we can reverse.
• Currently, unhealthy food is cheap, easy to come by and heavily promoted (even to children).
• I appreciated the way Hari addressed the stigma of obesity head-on.
• Any weight loss that does not involve some kind of suffering (extreme calorie restriction, exercise) is often seen as “cheating”.

What does Ozempic do to us?

• Scientist Daniel Drucker was trying to find out if the molecule GLP-1 (a small part of glucagon, which our guts produce) had any function by itself.
• When he mixed GLP-1 with insulin synthesising cells, he was excited to see those cells were stimulated to produce insulin.
• For a several decades, scientists worked hard to bring GLP-1 from a petri dish to become a safe and usable medication in humans.

Food and pleasure

• Even more compelling reading to me, however, was the drug’s impact on the relationship between food and pleasure.
• As a GP, I’ve been trained to see a loss of pleasure in food as potentially pathological, signalling an underlying problem.
• Enjoyment of food is a fundamental human experience that has kept humans alive.
• Why is giving up the pleasure we get from eating seen as a reasonable exchange for losing weight?

What do we really want?

• Incredibly, much of what the Japanese have done to achieve this has been within two generations.
• They have prioritised healthy food being both obtainable and understood, by everyone: from children to the elderly.
• They eat slowly, mixing flavours and textures, and are careful to balance each meal nutritionally as well as aesthetically.
• In Hari’s opinion, most governments (Japan excepted) hesitate to regulate these kinds of food in ways that will improve health.
• The implicit ensuing question is: what am I/what are we going to do about it?

• These three messages not only demonstrate China's concept of development, security, and civilization in the new era, but also reflect the strategic, epoch-making and global nature of China-France relations in the context of a changing world order.
• This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France.
• He firmly believed in the long history of Chinese civilization and emphasized that global development cannot be without China.
• France was the first Western power to establish diplomatic relations with China, and China-France relations have always carried the genes of influencing international relations and the world order from the very beginning.

• LONDON, May 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Paradox Public Relations, a leading U.S. communications firm advising the top decision-makers and companies shaping emerging sectors and markets, today announced a strategic partnership with the nonprofit Art Shield.
• Paradox will co-produce a series of Art Shield's gallery exhibitions, salons, and in-person events in London ushering in the next generation of Ukrainian voices, while investing resources into raising their profiles on the global stage.
• Paradox will provide media support to Art Shield on a pro-bono basis, given the urgency of preserving art in crisis, and the threat Ukrainian art faces amid Russia's invasion.
• "Art Shield's all-star lineup of Ukrainian voices will soon transform global culture," says a spokesperson for Paradox.

• View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240424076777/en/
  The "Brewing for Impact" initiative is rooted in Garrett's belief in beer's power to unite people, cultures, and traditions.
• Since pioneering fonio brewing in 2019, Garrett aims to further illuminate the super grain's brewing prowess with this campaign, while also nodding to beer’s origins in Africa, reminding us of the continent's rich contribution to the brewing world.
• The "Brewing for Impact" series of collaborations will also be showing their support for The Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling , an organization founded by Garrett Oliver himself.
• Through the "Brewing for Impact" campaign, Oliver seeks to highlight fonio's adaptability and its role in ushering in a brewing future centered on sustainability and social awareness.