Celebrity Culture Meets Obesity Science in Enough
It is taking a long time for diet culture to fade into oblivion. But we are well down that road when celebrity culture meets obesity science in a new book by Oprah Winfrey and Ania Jastreboff.
It’s remarkable, really, that we have come to a time when one of the most iconic persons in the popular culture of celebrity teams up with a physician scientist from Yale. They aim to teach everyone a thing or two about the biological basis for obesity, the science that explains it, and the serious mistakes that have attached a crushing load of shame and blame to this condition.
“I Can Use the Word”
For a long time, Oprah says the word obesity was a problem for her. She says:
“The word itself connotes being out of control. But I can now use the word.
“I came to understand that overeating doesn’t cause obesity, as one doctor shared with me, obesity is what causes overeating. That was the biggest revelation.”
The difference comes from knowing that obesity is a medical condition, not a personal fault. Genes set the table for obesity and our environment serves it up. The only choice we have is in what we want to do about it.
And fortunately, with the advent of GLP-1 medicines, our options have gotten a lot better.
Lifting Up Both Science and Personal Experiences
The unique collaboration between Oprah and Dr. Jastreboff serves an important purpose. It offers insight into the medical science of obesity, paired with insight into the personal experience of a famous and famously real person who has confronted issues with weight throughout her life.
Jastreboff says Oprah, after facing shame and blame for her weight struggles, is giving people with obesity a voice. She turned her painful experience into a gift for anyone who is facing this challenge.
This book is quite a gift.
Click here, here, and here for more about this extraordinary book.
Enough, by Ania Jastreboff and Oprah Winfrey, cover design by Alison Forner / Simon & Schuster
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January 13, 2026
