Oprah Winfrey is still talking about weight, diets and Ozempic. Previously, we discussed Oprah’s comments – made during a panel discussion – about her mixed or negative feelings about weight loss drugs. I think there was some nuance to what she said, but the headline (which I used) was her quote about feeling like Ozempic is “the easy way out” for someone who wants to or needs to lose weight. You also have to remember that Oprah was trying to spur real conversation about the science and mentality of weight gain and weight loss. During the same panel discussion, Oprah spoke about what life was like for her when she was at her heaviest:
Oprah Winfrey is speaking candidly about dealing with weight stigma. The media mogul, 68, recently hosted a panel, Oprah Daily’s “The Life You Want Class: The State of Weight,” where she discussed the obesity and weight crisis, which affects 2 billion adults globally. She held the conversation alongside obesity specialists Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford and Dr. Melanie Jay, psychologist Dr. Rachel Goldman and Sima Sistani, the CEO of WeightWatchers.
During the panel, Winfrey told those in attendance, “You all know I’ve been on this journey for most of my life. My highest weight was 237 lbs. I don’t know if there is another public person whose weight struggle has been exploited as much as mine over the years.”
“You all have watched me diet and diet and diet,” she continued, before noting that it’s “a recurring thing because my body always seems to want to go back to a certain weight.”
Detailing that she would notice how people would treat her differently when she weighed over 200 lbs., Winfrey said, “This is a world that has shamed people for being overweight forever. And all of us who’ve lived it know that people treat you differently, they just do,” she continued.
The former talk show host then explained that she found she dealt with that stigma the most while shopping.
“It’s that thing where people are like, ‘Let me show you the gloves. Would you like to look at the handbags? Because we know that there’s nothing in here for you,’ ” she said. “There is a condescension. There is stigma.”
[From People]
Yeah, she’s right. Even when I was at my slimmest, years ago, I was probably a size 10/12 (in American sizing) and I got the same looks whenever I went shopping in one of those boutiques full of clothes for size-4 people exclusively. The thing about being heavier or overweight is that you immediately limit your expectations too – it’s not just about people stigmatizing you, you stigmatize yourself, you say “oh, I can’t shop there, they won’t have anything for me, I can’t do that, I won’t be welcome there.” It wears you down.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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