Running on Empty: Why Obesity is Not a Problem of Excess Weight- It's a Brain Convinced Fuel Is Running Out - Paperback

The biggest misunderstanding about obesity isn't how we treat it. It's how we understand it.

For decades, we've been told that obesity is simple: eat less, move more, and if that doesn't work, try harder. Then, almost overnight, GLP-1 medications changed the conversation. Suddenly, millions of people were prescribed treatments that worked-but few were ever told why. Is obesity really a disease? If it isn't about willpower, what causes it? And what exactly are these medications treating?

In Running on Empty, obesity medicine specialist Dr. Sandra Cortina untangles one of the most misunderstood diseases of our time. Drawing on more than two decades of advances in obesity science, she introduces a new framework for understanding how the brain regulates body weight, why obesity is a chronic disease rather than a failure of self-control, and what GLP-1 medications are treating-along with what these medications can and cannot do. She also reveals how the hidden assumptions of diet culture continue to shape our understanding of obesity, leaving millions of people feeling ashamed, confused, and trapped in a cycle of self-blame.

At a time when GLP-1 medications are transforming obesity treatment, Running on Empty provides the understanding that has been missing. This is not another diet book or a step-by-step guide to losing more weight. It is a roadmap to clarity that will help you understand obesity, make sense of today's treatments, and stop fighting a disease that was never meant to be solved by willpower alone.

A New Framework for Understanding Obesity-and Why Understanding This Changes Everything