Enough – Your Health, Your Weight, and What It’s Like To Be Free

By Oprah Winfrey and Dr Ania Jastreboff

For her entire adult life, Oprah Winfrey has struggled with her weight. She never thought that medicines would provide hope, health and healing for people like her within her lifetime. However, her conversations with Dr Ania Jastreboff from the Yale School of Medicine reveal an important truth.

We now understand that being obese is not a choice. It is not a question of willpower or personal failure. Enough evidence now confirms this reality.

Obesity is a disease.

It is, instead, a question of biology. Our bodies evolved with a powerful need to survive. At the same time, we created an environment that constantly challenges that biology. As a result, the body struggles to determine when it has had enough.

Effective treatment strategies

Importantly, obesity is treatable. New medications can lower our body fat set point, also known as the brain’s “Enough Point”. Because of this shift, people can lose weight without battling biology through willpower alone. Enough progress in science has made this possible.

Using examples from Oprah Winfrey’s own struggles, along with those of other patients, Dr Jastreboff explains effective treatment strategies. She focuses on optimising health while managing side effects. Moreover, she offers reassurance grounded in decades of experience. She has treated patients with obesity for years. She has also led major studies involving these medications. Her work shows that biology, not moral weakness, determines when the body says Enough. Many of her patients describe a dramatic change. They say the “food noise” that plagued them for years has disappeared. As a result, they experience freedom from intrusive, persistent and disruptive thoughts about food.

With treatment, they begin a healing journey grounded in self-compassion. This journey stands in contrast to the shame and blame society imposed on them for decades. For many, treatment finally brings enough relief to allow lasting change.

Enough understanding replaces stigma

Dr Jastreboff’s groundbreaking research offers a new path forward. This path applies not only to obesity treatment but also to overall health. It carries significant implications for preventing and reversing hundreds of related diseases. As she demonstrates in this book, when science meets empathy, real healing becomes possible.

All these years I thought I could do it myself. And as the Lord and all his disciples know, I’ve tried and failed, tried and failed, tried and failed. In front of all of you, who have borne witness to it. The failure felt doubly shameful. I had access to so much: chefs, trainers, and the healthiest of foods. Why couldn’t I lose the weight and keep it off? Because no amount of success, money, fame, or intelligence can overpower biology. I had a disease. I blamed myself for not being able to cure it.

– Oprah Winfrey

About the authors

As a global media leader, Oprah Winfrey has built unparalleled connections with people around the world. Through The Oprah Winfrey Show, she entertained, enlightened and uplifted millions of viewers for twenty-five years. In addition, her philanthropic work and deep commitment to education have strengthened her legacy. These efforts have established her as one of the most respected and admired public figures today.

Dr Ania Jastreboff serves as the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology) and Professor of Paediatrics (Paediatric Endocrinology) at Yale School of Medicine. She is a compassionate physician-scientist and the founding director of the Yale Obesity Research Centre (Y-Weight). Furthermore, Dr Jastreboff is an international thought leader in the scientific development and clinical application of novel obesity medications. Her work continues to revolutionise obesity treatment by redefining what enough means for the human body.