During a recent livestream event, Oprah Winfrey addressed her role in perpetuating diet culture over the years. She spoke at the WeightWatchers “Making The Shift: A New Way to Think About Weight” livestream, acknowledging her own participation in diet culture through her platforms, including her talk show and magazine. Winfrey reflected on a specific moment from “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 1988, calling it one of her biggest regrets, and expressed a desire to do better and change the conversation surrounding body image.
After serving on the board of WW (previously known as WeightWatchers) since 2015, Winfrey announced in February that she would be leaving the board of directors. Throughout the years, Winfrey has been open about her health journey, including her weight loss experiences. In 2016, she revealed a 26-pound weight loss on the cover of O magazine, emphasizing her struggles with weight and her belief in strength in numbers. She also shared her commitment to walking 10,000 steps per day as part of her lifestyle adjustments.
In an interview with The New York Times Magazine in 2017, Winfrey discussed her struggle with balancing body acceptance and her health. She highlighted the importance of maintaining a weight that wouldn’t compromise her health, mentioning her risk of high blood pressure and diabetes due to excess weight. Winfrey noted that WeightWatchers helped her stay on track and provided a level of consciousness and awareness around her diet.
In December 2023, Winfrey revealed that she had started taking a weight loss drug, but did not specify which one. She described using it as a tool to manage weight and avoid yo-yo dieting. Winfrey expressed relief at having a medically approved prescription for weight management and emphasized her rejection of shaming from others and herself. She viewed the medication as a gift and a way to address the challenges she faced with weight loss.
During an appearance on CNN’s “King Charles” in March 2024, Winfrey shared more about her decision to start taking a weight loss drug. She explained that despite her previous efforts, she had reached a point where she could no longer work out or control her weight effectively through diet alone. Winfrey expressed hope and relief in finding a new approach to weight management, acknowledging the impact of the brain on obesity. She encouraged others to understand that obesity is a disease and that seeking help, including medications, is a valid way to address it.
