Padma Lakshmi on Ozempic and Wegovy Weight Loss Trend: 'We Have to Look Deeper at the Reasons Why' (Exclusive)

The Top Chef host spoke to PEOPLE about the recent trend of using Ozempic,a medication for type 2 diabetes, for weight loss

Padma Lakshmi talked about the "deeper" issue surrounding the recent Hollywood weight loss trend involving type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic.

During the Time100 gala Wednesday, the Top Chef host, 52, spoke to PEOPLE about her opinion on the growing popularity of Ozempic, an FDA-approved prescription medication for people with type 2 diabetes. It's one of the brand names for semaglutide and tirzepatide — also known as Wegovy and Mounjaro — which works in the brain to impact satiety, and has been trending in Hollywood circles for weight loss.

"You gotta be careful what you do with your body," she explains. "On Top Chef I eat a lot, and I understand the tendency. But also the pressure for women in media is much different than men in media. So we have to maybe look deeper to the reasons why, as a society, not just put it on the shoulders of the women who just want the same opportunity that men get."

"We just want an equal shake," Lakshmi continued. "We have to look good, we have to sound good, we have to be strong but not too strong, we have to be vulnerable but not too weak. And it can feel like a really dichotomous, tall order."

"So, I think we have to be kinder to each other and to ourselves," adds Lakshmi — whose award-winning travel and food docuseries Taste the Nation returns for season 2 on May 5.

Related: Stars Who've Spoken About Ozempic — and What They've Said

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Ozempic — a brand name for semaglutide, also known as Wegovy — is taken by injection in the thigh, stomach or arm to help lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.

Lakshmi is not the only celebrity who has expressed concern as some people have used the medication for weight loss, even when not medically necessary.

Real Housewives of New Jersey star Jackie Goldschneider said on Page Six's Virtual Reali-Tea podcast in February that she was "horrified" at how many people are taking Ozempic.

"I can talk about Ozempic all day. It gets me so fired up," Goldschneider, 46, said, noting that she's scared it will lead to eating disorders. "I'm horrified by it."

"You start dropping massive amounts of weight. That's so addicting," she said at the time, noting her own recovery from a 18-year eating disorder. "That's how I spiraled into anorexia. You get addicted to this new body and to the attention that comes with it."

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