Oprah Through the Years, Part 14 — What’s in a Word?

Back in 2010 Oprah Winfrey admitted to her audience, “I’ve never liked the term ‘food addict.'” Of course, over time, she had casually referred to herself as one of them, because it was the hip terminology, and because this is what a popular personality and influencer does. It’s the first lesson a stand-up comic learns, too. Start out with self-deprecation. Make fun of yourself, and the crowd will be on your side. Oprah went on to say,

I realize that I really have been one. And believe me, I — like so many of you — have punished myself for that. But I know that I’m not alone, and I know that the battle hasn’t ended.

In late 2023 the star confirmed that she was taking something, and made a public statement about how her thinking had evolved:

I had an awareness of [weight-loss] medications, but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way.

Some critics objected to her breakup with WeightWatchers, seemingly on the grounds that nobody should ever be allowed to change their mind, even when they recognize that previous moves may have been less than brilliant. Many people, having dared to move in a new direction, have been shocked to find it was not tolerated by either friends or the public.

Oprah described the benefits of changing her mind about the medication. The widely-quoted statement says,

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.

As part of the 2024 Teapot Tempest, Vanessa Romo of NPR reported that Oprah intended to elevate the conversation, advocate for health equity, and work to reduce stigma. In particular, her intention was to ditch shame, both the kind dispensed by others and the brand she manufactured herself. She was finished with five oppressive decades of feeling like, “Why can’t I just conquer this thing?,” and refused to believe any longer that a lack of willpower was a personal failure.

Meanwhile, she was hiking, hydrating, timing her meals more sanely, and still tabulating WeightWatchers points. Because, and this is a very important point that people would rather not acknowledge — you still have to do the work.

Further thoughts

A few years later, Oprah spoke of having had a revelation while moderating a panel on weight:

I realized I’d 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. It’s not about willpower — it’s about the brain.

She then consulted a doctor and was prescribed one of the new meds. On the shame issue (and many other matters) we see how Oprah adjusts her mind around new information, and can bring a large portion of America along with her. She has become something far more potent than a mere “influencer,” and is perceived as a moral arbiter.

This too led to her separation from WeightWatchers, which is a whole saga in itself. She added, “For the people who think that this (medication) could be the relief and support and freedom that you’ve been looking for your whole life, bless you.”

The part about obesity being a disease in the brain, is complicated in and of itself. Ultimately, everything is brain-linked in one way or another. And the connection between obesity and lab animal brains is different in quantity and quality from the connection between obesity and human brains. A person can think, “As long as I will need to wash a bowl anyway, I might as well have a large serving of stew, because that will justify using up the dish soap to wash just one dish.” No lab rat is capable of that quality of reasoning!

In the 2024 TV special, Oprah revealed,

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. And now I realize: y’all weren’t even thinking about the food! It’s not that you had the willpower; you weren’t obsessing about it!… I’m not constantly thinking about what the next meal is gonna be.

It was a battle she acknowledged she had been fighting every day of her life, often in public with an audience of millions wondering which size jeans she’d turn up in next, but also privately, cloaked in self-loathing because she thought she had failed. “How many times I have blamed myself because you think, ‘I’m smart enough to figure this out,’ and then to hear all along it’s you fighting your brain.”

Your responses and feedback are welcome!

Source: “The Highs and Lows of Oprah Winfrey’s 50-Year Weight Loss Journey,” MSN.com, 2024
Source: “Oprah Winfrey Reveals She Uses Weight-Loss Medication as a ‘Maintenance Tool’: ‘I’m Absolutely Done with the Shaming’,” People.com, 12/14/23
Source: “After nearly a decade, Oprah Winfrey is set to depart the board of WeightWatchers,” NPR.org, 03/01/24
Source: “Oprah Winfrey says she has released the shame of being ‘ridiculed’ for her weight for 25 years,” ABCNews.go.com, 03/19/24
Source: “Oprah Winfrey reveals she starved herself ‘for nearly five months’ in ABC weight loss,” USATODAY.com, 03/18/24
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The Book

OVERWEIGHT: What Kids Say explores the obesity problem from the often-overlooked perspective of children struggling with being overweight.

About Dr. Robert A. Pretlow

Dr. Robert A. Pretlow is a pediatrician and childhood obesity specialist. He has been researching and spreading awareness on the childhood obesity epidemic in the US for more than a decade.
You can contact Dr. Pretlow at:

Presentations

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the American Society of Animal Science 2020 Conference
What’s Causing Obesity in Companion Animals and What Can We Do About It

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the World Obesity Federation 2019 Conference:
Food/Eating Addiction and the Displacement Mechanism

Dr. Pretlow’s Multi-Center Clinical Trial Kick-off Speech 2018:
Obesity: Tackling the Root Cause

Dr. Pretlow’s 2017 Workshop on
Treatment of Obesity Using the Addiction Model

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation for
TEC and UNC 2016

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the 2015 Obesity Summit in London, UK.

Dr. Pretlow’s invited keynote at the 2014 European Childhood Obesity Group Congress in Salzburg, Austria.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2013 European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, UK.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2011 International Conference on Childhood Obesity in Lisbon, Portugal.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2010 Uniting Against Childhood Obesity Conference in Houston, TX.

Food & Health Resources