Recently, Oprah Winfrey discussed her decision to begin using a weight-loss medication.
The 70-year-old media magnate recently spoke out about the criticism and embarrassment she has endured due to her weight throughout the years.
She said that everything changed when she finally learned that obesity is a disease.
In a December interview, Winfrey revealed that she is using a weight-loss drug, although she did not specify which medication. Some have hypothesized that it’s the FDA-approved brand-name drug Ozempic, which is used to treat Type 2 diabetes.
Rumors began circulating when she appeared much thinner at the 2023 December premiere of the “The Color Purple” remake.
Winfrey announced her resignation from Weight Watcher’s (WW) board of directors in February. At the May shareholder meeting, the media mogul said she would not be running for re-election despite her long tenure as a WW spokeswoman and board member (since 2015).
Suspicions grew after her resignation, with many speculating that taking a drug to lose weight would be hypocritical and a conflict of interest while she was on the WW board.
Winfrey famously lost 67 pounds in 1988 while on a liquid diet, but she gained it all back and more when she “returned to real food,” as she recounted on Oprah.com. Her weight struggles with food go back decades.
During the panel discussion on “The State of Weight,” Winfrey revealed that she hit her highest weight of 237 pounds in 1992. She recalls being irritated because her body insisted on returning to a specific weight regardless of her efforts.
Winfrey disclosed her pre-diabetes diagnosis in 2019—the year before she began WW. Subsequently, she achieved regular blood sugar and blood pressure levels while losing 42 pounds with the program.
After vehemently refusing to use Ozempic or any comparable weight-loss medication earlier in the year, she startled her admirers by admitting to taking them towards the end of the year.
Although Oprah denied using diet pills at first, she later admitted to the use of these aids and fiercely defended their use, criticizing people who attempt to “shame” them.
Even while she doesn’t dwell on the thought of dying, Winfrey did say that her health was her top priority as she neared her 70th birthday. She described her attitude toward death as “a conscious acknowledgment that it’s possible at any time.”
