Oprah Winfrey thinks ‘obesity’ a disease, rather than a ‘choice’

Oprah Winfrey has recently addressed weight loss drugs after calling obesity “a disease” in her new show, An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution.

Speaking about weight loss medication ahead of her show, the media mogul said, “It is a very personal topic for me and the millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity.”

“In my entire life, I never dreamed that we would be talking about medicines that are providing hope for people like me who have struggled for years with being overweight or with obesity,” stated Winfrey.

During the special panel discussion before her show, she revealed weight-loss drugs have changed her life and even made her realise that obesity is a disease, rather than a choice.

“Obesity is a disease. It’s not about willpower — it's about the brain,” remarked the 70-year-old.

The former talkshow host stated, “All these years, I thought all of the people who never had to diet were just using their willpower, and they were for some reason stronger than me.”

Earlier, Winfrey told PEOPLE that after releasing her own “shame about obesity,” she consulted her doctor, who prescribed her a weight-loss medication.

“I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing,” she continued.

Winfrey explained, “The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for.”

“I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself,” she added.