The Good Life: Weight Loss Wins, But at What Cost?
By Alex Backus
Welcome to this week's edition of The Good Life! This week, we're talking about everything from Mental Health Awareness Month, to why more women are choosing to be single and what doctors believe is behind a rise in cancer among millennial women.
We're glad you're here!
How Ozempic and Other GLP-1 Drugs Are Eating Away at Body Positivity
Samhita Mukhopadhyay wasn't expecting shame to come from a photo. The longtime feminist writer and former Teen Vogue editor had just moderated a panel at a media conference. She was dressed in a skirt and printed top she felt good in—until she saw a candid image someone had posted online. "It was devastating," she told Newsweek.
Mukhopadhyay took Mounjaro, an antidiabetic medication also used for weight loss, and saw dramatic results—losing 15 percent of her body weight over 18 months. She was feeling physically better, sleeping more soundly and even considering a wardrobe overhaul. But the cost of the drug forced her to stop.
"I knew better," she said. "As a feminist writer and committed proponent of body positivity, I'd spent years trying to love my body at any size. And yet, here I was, agonizing over a picture of myself."
That contradiction, she said, was the real heartbreak—not just for her, but for the women who long-embraced the body positivity messaging themselves. "Taking something for weight loss made me feel like I was being vain, that I didn't have the willpower to lose weight, eat better or exercise," she said. "It felt like a violation of an unspoken norm."
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
It's been five years since COVID turned the world upside down. I was working as a morning news anchor in Las Vegas, so I really couldn't escape the headlines—which as you'll remember, went from bad to worse for what seemed like forever.
Nevada's unemployment hit a record 30%, the worst in the nation. So many people lost their jobs. I remember driving down the strip on St. Patrick's Day, one of the city's busiest holidays, it was a ghost town. Resorts were shut down, there were no showgirls, no tourists. The city's public school district started distance learning in March of 2020. Within the next 11 months, the district reported at least 20 students died by suicide. Day after day, graphics illustrated the growing amount of people infected and dying from the virus. It was a nightmare.
Perhaps one of the positives that came from the pandemic was bringing mental health into more conversations. It can often be a quiet battle, one you can hide, and often want to.
At least 4 in 10 U.S. adults experienced high levels of psychological distress at some point during the pandemic, according to four Pew Research Center surveys conducted between March of 2020 and September of 2022. Young adults were hit especially hard.
And today? The numbers are still alarming.
Nearly 1 in 4 adults (~60 million people) experienced a mental illness in the past year, a 2024 Mental Health America report (MHA) found. Anxiety is the most common, followed by depression.
The MHA data also shows that nearly 13 million adults reported having serious thoughts of suicide, and 2022 saw the highest number of suicide deaths ever recorded in the U.S.
"We are living in a time of polycrisis when evidence shows that the need for mental health care is urgent. High numbers of adults and youth alike are having serious thoughts of suicide, following a year with a record high number for completed suicides, substance use is on the rise, and other indicators of distress and disparity continue to escalate," MHA President and CEO Schroeder Stribling said.
🧠 Expert tips to boost your mental health
- Establish a morning routine: Starting your day with a structured routine can reduce stress and increase productivity.
- Physical activity: Regular exercise, even as simple as a short walk, can boost mood and overall health.
- Practice gratitude: Taking time to acknowledge things you're thankful for can improve your outlook and reduce stress.
- Limit screen time: Setting boundaries on news and social media consumption can prevent information overload and anxiety.
- Seek support: Connecting with friends, family, or support groups can provide emotional assistance and reduce feelings of isolation.
Women Are Choosing the Single Life
From going "boy sober" to "decentering men," discourse about young women rejecting the traditional path of marriage and motherhood has swept social media. As birth and marriage rates decline, more and more women are embracing the single life.
But what's behind the rise? Newsweek spoke to the experts and one young woman who is embracing the trend to find out more.
"Traditional marriage and motherhood is not generally a good deal for women pairing with men," Lisa Wade an associate professor of sociology at Tulane University told Newsweek. "They are less happy than single women, less happy than men married to wives, and sacrifice more of their economic security than men because they take on more housework and routine child care and are less able to invest at work."
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