There's been plenty of reaction to Oprah Winfrey revealing that she's taking a weight-loss drug, but which one? And though she says she's on that drug for maintenance, was it also behind that stunning transformation? (crowd cheers) A slim-downed Oprah unveils her painting at the National Portrait Gallery in DC, as the big mystery continues. What weight-loss drug is she taking? The nearly seven-foot-high portrait shows Oprah in a stunning purple gown. The honor comes amid Oprah's big revelation that she's now on a weight-loss drug that she would not identify. She says she went on the medication after hosting a show about weight loss. I know you all have been seeing the headlines and it's blowing up your social media feeds, the new weight loss drugs everybody's talking about. Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro. Afterwards, she says she 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." Oprah's revelation comes as Poison Control announces a startling 1500% spike in calls related to injected weight-loss drugs.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta spoke about Ozempic, which is designed to treat diabetes that some use for weight loss. The Ozempic pen. So this is it. You open it up, put a needle on there, and then you dial-in the dose that you're actually going to give yourself. You do that. So people starting to work with this may say, "Hey, look, it's working." "Let me give myself more and more of this." For those who might be inspired by Oprah's dramatic weight loss and also want to go on medication, Dr. Alexandra Sowa warns, you should be under a doctor's care. I think people need to know that this is a medication for a medical condition. Excess weight in obesity is a disease, and we can't just use this to lose a few pounds, and it can be dangerous if we're just looking to go on this for a week or two, a month or two, and we're not working with a doctor who knows what they're doing.
As for Oprah, the doctor applauds her success. I think it's thrilling that Oprah, who has the most famous struggle with her weight, is now saying that weight-loss medications are one of the very effective tools that she's now using. About 2% of Americans are on weight-loss medication. Nearly half, 45%, have expressed interest in it. (intriguing music).