We need to talk about Oprah….
I was at MHM the other day and a friend in my boxing class said to me: “I was thinking about you with the Oprah show the other day. What did you think?”
Let me just say here, I did not watch the show. I appreciate those who did, those who could report from the trenches, but I myself have not.
Before we go any further, here’s a quick recap of what happened:
On Monday, Oprah presented a TV show praising weight loss medications titled An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution.
Yes, this happened.
Yes, that's the title.
**Before we go any further, I want to say that taking weight loss medications is not a failure or a cop out. Our team here absolutely honors someone’s bodily autonomy and decision to take these medications. Having a body, especially a marginalized body, in our diet and thin obsessed culture is hard. It is complicated. There is no judgement from us in any way directed towards the people who take them.**
My ire is directed towards medical professionals, influencers, and yes, that includes Oprah, who looks towards these medications as the solution to all of life’s problems and further perpetuate harm against fat people.
So, with that, here are a few (of the many) of the thoughts swirling around my head from this week:
Nobody’s weight and dieting has been more documented publicly than Oprah’s. I remember the wagon of faux fat she pulled on stage after starving herself to become thin. I cannot imagine what it would be like, especially the pressure put on a Black woman in entertainment, to have millions of people follow and care about your dress size. And. Oprah has absolutely NO idea about the harm she is causing with her messaging.
It is near impossible to get these weight loss medications at starter doses. I have clients taking these meds and they are calling all pharmacies in the area and they just don’t exist. So here is Oprah, talking about how amazing these meds are, and you just cannot get them. This isn’t a book from her bookclub that you can order on Amazon! These are medications that have very real side effects. And people are forced to get them from places that sell compounded versions from sketchy places (like Groupon, seriously!). So people’s hopes are lifted and then very quickly squashed.
Oprah barely talked about the side effects of these medications. They can be brutal and cause people to stop taking them. Also, often these medications do not lead to weight loss, leaving the person taking them to think something is wrong with them. This informed consent, about what can happen with these medications, is not something doctors are telling their patients. And speaking about doctors, those she had on her show get financial kickbacks FROM THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES! Red flag much? 🚩
I have so much more to say but I'd be writing a book and let's face it, you don't want to read that.
So here are some other options:
I love Katie Sturino's IG coverage of the special (plus an apology from WW CEO).
Also, two of my favorite people, Bri Campos and Mack Woolrich, are having a whole convo about this topic on SUNDAY (free!) which you can sign up here for.
