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The Hollywood Weight Loss Wonder Drug

Slate News

Slate Podcasts

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.56K Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2023

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The diabetes medication Ozempic has exploded in popularity, particularly amongst those in Hollywood looking to lose a few extra pounds. But a silver bullet for weight loss leads to a number of questions: Is “buying weight loss” via injection somehow worse than diet and exercise? Are so many people buying and using this drug that people who need it for its intended purpose are missing out? What happened to body positivity? 


Guest: Matthew Schneier, feature writer for New York Magazine.


Host: Lizzie O’Leary


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Transcript

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0:00.0

Did you know choosing the train over your car can cut your carbon footprint by up to two thirds?

0:06.0

So, one family outing at a time, one little adventurer at a time, one trip to the museum, one dinner in the city, one nap on the way home at a time.

0:18.0

One train journey at a time can help create a greener future.

0:24.0

So when will you take your next trip? Find out more at nationalrail.co.uk slash greener.

0:30.0

Hey guys, before we get started, just a morning that there's a little swearing in this episode.

0:36.0

Okay, here's the show.

0:44.0

Recently, reporter Matthew Schneier met up with an up-and-coming actress, we'll call Allison.

0:50.0

It's not a real name, but it's what he called her in a story. Matthew writes for New York magazine.

0:55.0

She's an actress, she works film television, these sort of things, and she has always been or has generally been fairly slim.

1:04.0

But Allison was about to start promoting a new project, and she wanted to lose a little weight.

1:09.0

So, in December, she went on a course of some agglotide.

1:13.0

That's the generic name for diabetes drugs like ozempic, and while they are intended for type 2 diabetes, off-flabel use has exploded, including, of course, in Hollywood.

1:26.0

Matthew knew what Allison looked like, he'd seen her on screen. But when they met in person, he could tell something had changed.

1:34.0

The way I describe it in the piece is she looked to me like the kind of Instagram version of herself.

1:40.0

She wasn't skeletal, he wasn't concerned, but there was a difference.

1:46.0

Something looked a little bit kind of sharpened, and I wasn't surprised when I said, I knew that she was on this track, but I said, you know, what's different and said, you know, I'm down 10 pounds.

1:58.0

Matthew says they sat together drinking the coffees. He had a normal sized one and a piece of bread.

2:04.0

Allison had a tiny one, a no bread. She said she just wasn't interested in food.

2:12.0

Several people I spoke to, who have experienced with these medications, described feeling a real kind of disinterest, even bordering and disgust on food.

2:22.0

You know, they kind of had to force down their throats, essentially. One woman said to me, you know, I loved Brussels sprouts. Brussels sprouts were my favorite thing.

2:30.0

And I would be chewing them and thinking like, you know, when is this going to be over?

2:37.0

Today on the show, the era of a Zempic may just be beginning. What does it mean when a drug can profoundly alter weight, health, and a relationship with food?

...

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