Oprah Winfrey reveals she uses weight-loss drugs, calls it a ‘gift’

This morning, Oprah looking fit and fabulous on the cover of People and sharing a head turning revelation. The superstar admitting she uses a weight loss medication as part of her health routine, telling people I now use it as I feel I need it as a tool to manage, not yo-yoing. Oprah talked to us about her journey that has really spanned decades and how she has been blamed and shamed about her weight. Oprah saying the fact there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier in my lifetime feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift. I'm absolutely done with shaming from other people and particularly myself. While not naming the specific drugs she takes, Oprah opening up about the pain she's endured in her weight loss struggles. It was public sport to make fun of me for 25 years. She says her change of heart about weight loss drugs came this summer when she hosted a about slimming down and made these comments. When I first started hearing about the weight loss drugs, I felt I've got to do this on my own because if I take the drug, that's the easy way out. The star now telling people I had the biggest aha. I realized I've been blaming myself all these years for being overweight and I have a predisposition that no amount of willpower is going to control. Obesity is a disease. Public reaction to her change in attitude about weight loss drugs has been mixed and I'm happy to see that Oprah Winfrey has joined the bandwagon. She said it was the easy way out early on, making other people question it's counting points. For years, Oprah has been the face of Weight Watchers and is a part owner of the company. She says now using a weight loss drug is only one part of her regimen that includes counting points, regular exercise, eating her last meal at four o'clock and drinking a gallon of water a day. Health top of mind for the media mogul ahead of her 70th birthday next month. And just yesterday, Oprah received a big honor when a new painting of her was unveiled at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. She says she'll continue to lead a life driven by gratitude and starts and ends every day with thank you. That new issue of People is out on newsstands tomorrow guys. All right, Emily, thank you so much. Well, let's turn to Dr. Roshni Raj, Associate Professor of Medicine at NYU Langone Health. Dr. Raj, good morning. So what do you think of what Oprah said and how she's using these drugs? You know, I think it's a great thing that she's come out and admitted this because we know we've watched Oprah struggle with weight for decades, right? It's been very much in the public eye. She has said that she's felt a lot of shame associated with this and what she's saying now, which I think is wonderful, is she has realized obesity is a biological condition and that means sometimes it does require medication to really handle it. You know, she said she thought it was a matter of willpower and we think about what Oprah has accomplished in her life. We know she's not lacking in willpower. She's also not lacking in resources with nutritionists, I'm sure, and trainers, but sometimes some people do need biologically that extra help and there's so many studies showing that people with obesity in their brains, the food addiction centers are working differently. Their gut microbiomes make them, you know, hold on to calories more. They're people that are just more predisposed to become obese and there are many other medical conditions associated with that. So I think it's great that she's sort of lifting the shame off of this medical condition and, you know, taking the drugs out of it. The fact that she's saying this is a condition that you should get treated and not feel guilty about. She was looking really good before she started taking those drugs. I mean, she was looking slimmer, but these drugs come, there are things that come along with it. If you stop taking the drug, does the weight automatically come back on? It does, absolutely, and now there are studies coming out all the time now showing that that's the case, that these are really maintenance drugs. The other thing Oprah made very clear is this is part of a holistic approach to healthy living. So she's still exercising regularly. She's still very committed to healthy eating as well and I think everyone should realize the studies that are done that show promising results from these medications are done in people who are eating healthily and, you know, exercising as well. She just changed her mind. Like, so what? I mean, people are like, oh, you told us yesterday, but to me it's like, oh, I thought about it. As someone who has prescribed these drugs, who prescribes these drugs, there are a number of them on the market now, there's been some research conducted that it suppresses the craving for drinking, that it can help you curb gambling, that it's, I mean, to a lot of folks these drugs sound almost too good to be true. Are you at all concerned that five, ten years from now we're gonna look back on this and we're all gonna think, wow, we were, we were, we were wrong? Well, you know, with any relatively new medication there is a concern about what are the long, long term effects. And many of these drugs have been used in diabetes, so we have some data which is good. But yeah, you're always with any medication weighing the risks and the benefits. Because we know there are so many complications, medical complications of obesity, we do want to make sure we're giving something, some sort of treatment. And even if there are some potential unknowns, in many cases it's worth it, but it's a very individual case. I don't want people to base their medical decisions on what Oprah or any celebrity is doing. You have to have a conversation with your doctor about your particular case, your particular journey with weight loss, and whether it's appropriate for you. Makes sense, Dr. Raj. Thank you so much. Hey, thanks for watching. Don't miss the Today Show every weekday at 11 a.m. Eastern, 8 Pacific, on our streaming channel, Today All Day. To watch, head to today.com slash all day or click the link right here.