Blessed are the Fat

While I love a good New Years Eve party, I generally dislike New Years resolutions. It’s not the resolutions themselves – it’s the marketing that comes alongside them. Diets, exercise routines, gym memberships, meal prep services, messages telling us that we let ourselves ‘slide’ during the holidays so now it’s time to pay the price or that this is the year you get ‘fit’ (usually meaning skinny but sometimes meaning ripped). Before photos of people who look like me compared to after photos of people who don’t look like me. These messages are around all the time, but they all get boosted in January so loudly that it makes me uncomfortable.

Something like 95% of diets fail (more here) to keep weight off in the long term, so skepticism of weight loss products and advertisements is warranted. I noticed ads for new products, though, when I traveled to Boston for my DMin intensive class early in the month. When I travel I like to watch the Food Network and HGTV on hotel TVs because I don’t have their streaming services. I didn’t see a lot of gym ads or specific diets. I kept seeing ads for GLP-1 drugs. I did a bit of searching and learned that Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus are all name brand GLP-1 drugs. The generic drug is semaglutide which mimics the GLP-1 hormone in our bodies. Some ads for places that could get you GLP-1 drugs without needing a prescription (or at least they implied you don’t need a prescription).

I also saw several ads that showed smaller fat people injecting themselves with GPL-1 drugs. I felt like it served the purpose to say – look how easy it is! Don’t be scared! I saw only smaller fat (size 14-18) women. Maybe a couple mid-fat women (size 20-24), but certainly no larger than a 24. I did see larger fat men in the ads (briefly) but mostly smaller fat men. (Apologies for not having sizes – I couldn’t find a fat spectrum explanation that included men’s sizing. Let me know if you do!)

The problem I have isn’t with GLP-1 drugs for weight loss generally and certainly not for GLP-1 drugs for specific conditions. I think modern medicine is amazing and needs to be applied on an individual basis. I’m not a fan of American drug advertising, diet culture, and anti-fat bias. Weight is an incredibly complicated thing that is treated in American culture like it’s simple, especially in January. One of the notices I saw (and I apologize for not remembering which ad this was one) said that continuous use of GLP-1 drugs is needed to keep from regaining the weight you lose. That’s a big caveat, and even without the 95% of diets failing number that’s just one reason that proves weight is complicated.

I am someone who has done a lot of digging into weight loss, wellness, healthism, etc. These ads almost always make me feel guilty for not trying to lose weight. Sometimes it’s just for a moment, but it is most of the ads most of the time. Those moments add up. I don’t know how to shake that. I know that health is not the same as weight, so why do these ads live rent free in my head?

How do weight loss advertisements affect you?

Additional Resources

• Maintenance Phase episode on Ozempic (warning: the hosts start with a game called Steak House or Gay Bar? that includes some language people may find objectionable. The real episode starts 50 seconds in.)
• FDA’s Concerns with Unapproved GLP-1 Drugs Used for Weight Loss – Food & Drug Administration
• Ozempic prescriptions can be easy to get online. Its popularity for weight loss is hurting those who need it most – CNN Online
• Research shows GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs are effective but come with complex concerns – U Chicago Medicine
• The Ozempic Effect: Everything You Need to Know About Medical Weight Loss – Columbia University Medical
• Should We End Obesity? – Time Magazine