Oprah Winfrey has struggled with her weight for years, but recently revealed that she has turned to weight loss drugs.
In an interview with People magazine, the former talk show host recalled the decades of public ridicule she endured about her physique and how she took the criticism.
“For 25 years, it's been a public sport to make fun of me,” Winfrey told People magazine. “I have been blamed and shamed, and I have blamed and shamed myself,” he said.
She mentioned a particularly egregious instance in which a magazine cover called her a “dumpee, a grump, and just a dumpee.”
“I didn't feel any anger,” she told People magazine. “I felt sad. I was hurt. I swallowed the shame. I accepted that it was my fault.”
Winfrey's weight fluctuations have been well-documented, but her health began to improve during her rehabilitation following knee surgery in 2021.
She said she started hiking and focused on her fitness, making progress.
“I felt stronger, healthier and more alive than I've felt in years,” she told People.
Winfrey, who has been recommending weight-loss drugs to others for years, spoke with weight-loss experts and clinicians as part of the “Oprah Daily You Want” series that aired in September. He said he didn't consider it himself until he recorded a panel discussion.
During the panel discussion, she said the weight loss drug Ozempic was an “easy solution” but said she had an epiphany while talking to the panelists.
“Along with many people in that audience, I had the biggest 'aha' feeling,” Winfrey told People magazine. “I realized that I had been blaming myself for years for being overweight, and I have tendencies that no amount of willpower can control.”
“Obesity is a disease. It's not a problem of will, it's a problem of the brain,” she added.
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Winfrey said she changed her mind about weight loss drugs and got a prescription. She did not reveal the name of her medication in the interview.
However, Winfrey stressed that although she has to work hard to maintain her weight loss, she still considers the drug a “gift.”
“The fact that there are medically approved prescriptions to manage weight and stay healthier feels like a comfort, a relief, a gift to me while I'm still alive, something I can't hide behind. I don't want to be ridiculed again. I'm done being humiliated by others, especially myself.”
Last year, the following happened: Semaglutide is in high demandgeneric drugs for the brand-name drugs Ozempic, Wigovy, and Libersus.
These drugs cause weight loss and are known to be very effective. One doctor told CBS News that the drug helps people lose about 15% of their body weight, which is significantly more than previous generations of weight loss drugs.
The drug semaglutide works by mimicking a gut hormone called GLP1 (glucagon-like peptide hormone). It also helps suppress appetite,” he said. Amanda Velasquez works at Cedars-Sinai Weight Management and Metabolic Health Center in Los Angeles.
Ozempic and other similar drugs were originally developed to treat diabetics by producing insulin and lowering blood sugar levels. It can cause serious side effects, and doctors warn: Long-term effects still unknown.
