Oprah Winfrey Debuts Dramatic Weight Loss and Candidly Admits to Using Diet Drugs
At 72, talk show icon Oprah Winfrey stole the spotlight at the Telluride Film Festival, showcasing a 40-kilogram weight loss and openly discussing her reliance on weight-loss medication.
After decades of a highly publicized struggle with her weight, 72-year-old Oprah Winfrey stole the spotlight at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. The talk show queen debuted a dramatically different silhouette than what audiences have been accustomed to seeing. Winfrey is estimated to have shed nearly 40 kilograms recently, bringing her weight down to approximately 70 kilograms—a 37-kilogram drop from her peak weight of 107 kilograms in the early 1990s.
But unlike other Hollywood celebrities who attribute their transformations solely to drinking water and pilates, Oprah put a candid confession on the table: she uses weight-loss medication.
Silencing the Mental Noise
Earlier this year, the television host opened up about her lifelong struggle during an interview on The View:
"All these years, I stood there with all those voices in my head, thinking about what I ate, what I should eat, how many calories were in it, and how long it would take me to burn it off. I always thought it was because of me, that it was my fault. That it was purely a matter of discipline and willpower."
Today, she explains that she views the situation as far more complex, attributing her struggles to a genetic predisposition to obesity:
"You don't overeat and become obese; obesity causes you to overeat. The medication simply silenced that noise."
The Reality of Maintenance
She also admitted that she attempted to stop taking the weight-loss medication last year, wanting to prove to everyone that she could maintain her weight through fitness alone. The result? She regained nearly 10 kilograms because the urge to eat returned.
"I realized that naturally thin people don't actually have more willpower—they just don't think about food all the time. They eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full."
Currently, Winfrey maintains her health by combining her medical regimen with a fitness routine that includes treadmill workouts, long nature hikes, and weightlifting.
