Weight loss jabs – Eng>Eng exercises

In this post, I’m using a speech about GLP-1 weight loss drugs as the basis for a few English enhancement exercises.

Here’s the speech. You could start by doing an English>English consecutive, or a simultaneous reformulation exercise (English>English), the idea being to keep key terms that can’t be changed (such as ‘GLP-1s’), but look for alternative constructions, synonyms, or different idioms where possible – without changing the register or message of the original speech.

1. Collocation & Register Check

Complete the following collocations based on the themes in the speech:

1. To exert _________ (the traditional view of weight loss).
2. A two-tier _________ (the divide between private and public access).
3. Vested _________ (why food companies are suddenly interested in health).
4. Chronic _________ (the clinical definition used to justify the drug).

2. Lexical Expansion: Sophisticated Synonyms

What alternatives can you come up with for the words in bold? Do they have the same register as the original? Feel free to change the sentence structure a little.

1. The food industry is trying to fix its image by offering “GLP-1 companion” products.
2. Obesity can ruin the quality of life of those with chronic conditions.
3. Companies are acting like opportunists in the face of this medical trend.

3. Speaking task

Scenario: You are participating in a high-level panel discussion at a health summit. Choose the right register for your role! Don’t forget to record your performance.

• Role A (The Bio-Ethicist): argue that medicalising obesity via GLP-1s risks “pathologising” the human body and ignores environmental factors (the “obesogenic environment”).
• Role B (The Pharma Spokesperson): argue that the “willpower” narrative is a vestige of Victorian morality and an ineffectual approach to the problem.
• Role C (The ‘Victim’ of GLP-1s): argue that long-terms effects of taking GLP-1s are poorly understood, that the side-effects can be devastating, and that people such as yourself are spending your own money on illegal jabs that leave them with long-term health problems while lining the pockets of big pharma.

Here’s the sort of thing a quite formal speaker might say:

• “Be that as it may…”
• “The crux of the matter lies in…”
• “At the risk of sounding pedantic…”
• “There is a pervasive, albeit flawed, assumption that…”

Answer Key

2. Lexical Expansion (Suggested):

1. Improve
2. Compromise/affect/impact/blight the lives
3. Mercenary (or perhaps predatory)

1. Collocations:

1. To exert willpower.
2. A two-tier healthcare system.
3. Vested interests.
4. Chronic disease/condition.