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Oprah Winfrey's latest special, “Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution,” aired Monday night on ABC. In the new hour-long show, the legendary host and producer discusses her journey using weight-loss drugs and speaks with experts about the best candidates to use them.
Monjaro and Ozempic, medications intended to treat type 2 diabetes, have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat obesity. However, it has been prescribed off-label for weight loss management. Its main ingredients, semaglutide and tirzepatide, respectively, are FDA-approved for weight loss under the brand names Wegovy and Zepbound.
Amy Kane and Oprah Winfrey
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According to Nigeli Morris, senior vice president of cardiometabolic sales at Novo Nordisk, the Danish company behind Ozempic and Wegovy, the popularity of these drugs is indicative of changing attitudes toward obesity.
“In fact, for more than two decades, Novo Nordisk has taken the position that obesity is a disease, and that the shame society holds for people who deal with overweight and obesity must stop,” Morris told Winfrey. “As someone who is overweight and obese, I have to constantly remind myself that this is not a personal failure.”
Since their introduction to the market, demand for the four drugs has increased dramatically, leading to shortages. Rhonda Pacheco, vice president of Lilly Diabetes and Obesity Group, a division of US company Eli Lilly, which produces Mongaro and Zippound, described their popularity as “unprecedented.”
“I think people really understand that [obesity] “It is a disease, and they are seeing treatments that show this effectiveness,” Pacheco told Winfrey. “So they go out and talk to their doctors.”
From left to right: Dr. Amanda Velasquez, Dr. W. Scott Butch, and Oprah Winfrey on ABC's “Oprah's Special: Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution.”
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However, access to medications like Wegovy and Zepbound can be limited: While they may be covered by insurance, purchasing them out of pocket can cost upwards of $1,000 for a monthly supply. Morris speculates that this is partly because doctors are not properly informed about obesity as a disease and treated with weight-loss drugs.
“It's healthy discourse,” Morris said. “It's important to have this discussion. So access is complex, just as the disease itself is complex. Obesity medications are not covered as much, which is why the out-of-pocket cost is where it is now.”
“The Oprah Special: Shame, Blame, and the Weight Loss Revolution” is available to stream on Hulu now.
