Oprah Winfrey is leaving the board of WeightWatchers after almost a decade amid her announcement of using a weight-loss drug.
For years, Oprah was an avid supporter of the weight management program for weight loss, health gains, living with diabetes, simple nutrition, and healthy habits.
According to their website, WeightWatchers offers a Points Program, a Diabetes Program, an intuitive app, and a GLP-1 Program, “a program built to help you feel your best while taking weight-loss medication” like Wegovy or Zepbound.
Zepbound is a tirzepatide injection marketed to possibly “help adults with obesity, or with excess weight (overweight) who also have weight-related medical problems, lose weight and keep it off.”
Wegovy is a semaglutide injection marketed “for adults with obesity or some adults with excess weight and weight-related medical problems, along with a reduced-calorie meal plan and increased physical activity.”
However, the other ever-popular semaglutide injection with celebrities, Ozempic (not mentioned on the WeightWatchers site), doesn’t market its medical product this way. Ozempic is described for managing type 2 diabetes, potential risks of strokes, heart attacks, or death in adults with known heart disease, and possible weight loss, although specified they’re not weight loss drugs.
In December 2023, Oprah told People she began taking a weight-loss medication (although she did not say the name) after discovering that her weight-loss journey called for more than just her self-control. “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,” she said.
Now, Variety reports that on Feb. 26, Oprah informed WeightWatchers this week that she would not stand for re-election as a board member at the annual shareholders’ meeting in May.
WeightWatchers stated, “Her decision was not the result of any disagreement with the company on any matter relating to the company’s operations, policies, or practices.”
Oprah has been on the WeightWatcher’s board since 2015 after acquiring a substantial stake in the company. The media mogul will donate her interest in the WeightWatchers to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “I have been a long-time support of this worthy organization, and I am proud to continue my support,” Oprah said.
Although she will not hold a place on the board, Oprah will continue to work with the company in some capacity. “I look forward to continuing to advise and collaborate with WeightWatchers and CEO Sima Sistani in elevating the conversation around recognizing obesity as a chronic condition, working to reduce stigma, and advocating for health equity,” she said per Variety.
Since Oprah and WeightWatchers have become synonymous over the years, many people have speculated that her departure from the company might be linked to her recent reveal of using a weight-loss drug. However, it’s not clear which drug she was referring to, especially since WeightWatchers is linked to Wegovy and Zepbound.
Going forward, it’ll be interesting to see how the conversation surrounding celebrity use of weight-loss medication and sponsored weight-loss programs following Oprah’s departure from WeightWatchers, the program she made so famous. Who should we follow when looking for genuine guidance on our weight-management journeys?
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