Gwen NewmanAnia M. Jastreboff, MD, PhD, an endocrinologist and obesity expert who graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) in 2002, has been at the forefront of the development of GLP-1 receptor-based medicines, which have seen rapid advancements changing the treatment climate globally. She’s authored numerous publications, presented groundbreaking news at scientific and medical conferences around the world, and been interviewed by countless journalists during her nearly two decades in the field.
But even this seasoned physician-scientist, endocrinologist, and international thought leader may not have expected to be asked to write a book by Oprah Winfrey, who asked her to co-write “Enough: Your Health, Your Weight, and What It’s Like to Be Free,” published in 2026.
The two first crossed paths at a Winfrey special event in 2024 where Jastreboff, the Harvey and Kate Cushing Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine and founding director of the Yale Obesity Research Center (Y-Weight), was being interviewed by Winfrey about obesity before an audience.
Winfrey had long been a very public advocate— and sometimes victim, she’d say — of being in the spotlight for her weight struggles. She listened intently, as she had for years. It was several months later after taping two podcasts for her YouTube channel that Winfrey turned to the physician-scientist and said that she should write a book that would soon become “Enough.”
With thought and reflection, Jastreboff took on the challenge full-heartedly and energetically. The driving force behind the decision, she says, was the potential impact to help so many.
“I asked myself, ‘Will this help people living with obesity?’ And the answer was clear. Not only are three out of four people in the United States affected by overweight and obesity,” Jastreboff says, “but obesity is associated with over 200 obesity-related complications and conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and even some cancers.”
Within months, Jastreboff had drafted the contents of a 288-page book that made The New York Times best seller list. Published by Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, “Enough” is also available as an eight-hour audiobook narrated by the two co-authors.
With the book’s release, Jastreboff and Winfrey appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, TODAY, and The View along with YouTube podcasts hosted by Winfrey, spotlighting guest tennis great Serena Williams that were instantly viewed by more than 3.4 million people.
The Biology of the Disease
In “Enough,” Jastreboff explains the biology of the disease, the connection between weight gain and an environment fueled by processed foods, lack of movement and sleep, lots of stress, and even medications that cause weight gain as a side effect. This scientific overview alternates with passages where Winfrey shares her personal experience with weight gain, pounds lost, and all the highs and lows in between.
“The science is explained so that readers can understand the reasons behind their struggle, and Winfrey’s shared lifelong story makes it relatable. Our main goals were to help shift away from shame and blame, to focus on the goal of treating obesity to improve health,” Jastreboff says, “and overall to convey a message of hope, compassion, and care.”
Despite the many ups-and-downs of the TV mogul’s weight-loss journey, Winfrey herself had only recently learned that obesity was indeed a disease, had been classified as such since 2013, and that it now affects an astounding 78 percent of Americans. Obesity was not a matter of choice or a lack of willpower; medical advancements have been swift and have given millions greater treatment options — and hope for regaining both their bodies and their self-esteem — and that was the very message that Winfrey wanted Jastreboff’s help getting out to the masses.
“It was critical to discover this,” says Jastreboff, “because our patients have been so unfairly blamed and shamed for so long. Because for people with the disease of obesity, physical activity and change in diet are critical for health, but tools which target the biology are what will move the scale, and as with any disease, understanding the biology and discovering effective therapeutics that target the biology remain a key goal.”
The daughter of two academic PhD scientists — ironically both first at Yale, then the University of Maryland — Jastreboff had seen firsthand the frustration and belittling of those overweight. Her older brother was taunted as a preteen and her father developed obesity and diabetes as an adult. That perception was the impetus behind Jastreboff going into medicine, specializing in endocrinology with a focus on obesity biology and treatment early on.
“I knew that it wasn’t a matter of choice,” she recalls. “It was not my father’s choice to have obesity.” And now, as a scientist, she knows that “there is something biologically compelling him to eat and to eat more. This was critical to understand,” she adds, “because patients have for so long been unfairly blamed and shamed.”
“We’re still in the infancy of understanding the biology of obesity and I think one of the goals of this book is to share what we know about the biology and help people — patients and providers — shift away from self and societal blame and shame and shift to care and compassion, just as we do for any other disease.”
Mentors at UMSOM
Of the role nutrient-stimulated hormones such as GLP-1’s play and the new class of medications — taking the market by storm — Jastreboff urges medical oversight and care and hopes prescription costs will make them more affordable for those in need seeking treatment for this chronic disease.
Patients who have lost weight, she says, still need the medicines even after pounds are shed. Without the therapeutics, the body responds just as it did prior to treatment and weight can quickly be regained. “A medicine cannot work if it is not taken, whether that’s for obesity, diabetes, or high blood pressure,” she says.
Though always looking forward, Jastreboff is quick to praise UMSOM for being instrumental in her professional development. What she remembers most, she says, is the one-to-one contact on a day-to-day basis.
“The biggest impact overall,” she says, “were the people, mentors like Dr. Philip Mackowiak. I was very fortunate. He believed in me, took me under his wing, and as a medical student I felt heard.”
Jastreboff says it’s hard for those struggling with being overweight.
“We don’t yet completely know exactly how the environment we live in is impacting our bodies, how it is encouraging our bodies in small yet additive ways to hold on to more fat than we need, and we too often blame ourselves when our body is just doing what it’s supposed to do — protect us, making sure we survive,” she says. “In a way, the new medicines are teaching us how our bodies work and about obesity. It’s a very exciting time for medicine and, most importantly, for our patients living with obesity.”
This story originally was published in the summer 2026 issue of the University of Maryland Medicine’s Bulletin.
