Oprah Winfrey To Tackle The Impact Of Prescription Weight Loss Medications In ABC Special

Denise Petski
·2 min read
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Oprah Winfrey is taking on the subject of prescription weight loss medications and their impact in an upcoming ABC primetime special. An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution will air Monday, March 18 at 8 pm EDT on ABC and next day on Hulu.

The special delves into prevailing questions and concerns surrounding the impact of these medications on our health care, economy, lifestyle and culture, according to the description.

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Before a live studio audience, Winfrey brings together medical experts including Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. W. Scott Butsch, ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Dr. Amanda Velazquez and patients from around the country who have a range of personal experiences with prescription weight loss medications. Winfrey also speaks with leaders from the two global pharmaceutical companies behind the drugs “to address what this means for the 100 million Americans and over 1 billion adults worldwide living with a deadly disease.”

“It is a very personal topic for me and for the hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity,” said Winfrey. “This special will bring together medical experts, leaders in the space and people in the day-to-day struggle to talk about health equity and obesity with the intention to ultimately release the shame, judgment and stigma surrounding weight.”

Winfrey last month announced she was leaving the board of directors of WeightWatchers after a 9-year run and donating her stock in the company in order to avoid any potential conflict of interest over her use of weight-loss medications.

The ABC special is produced by Harpo Productions, executive produced by Oprah Winfrey and Tara Montgomery.

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