Is Body Positivity Being Weakened by the Rise of Ozempic?

The debate around body positivity has changed profoundly in tone. Once focused on combating the stigma faced by fat people and on the need to represent a wider range of bodies, it is now being shaped by the rise of treatments associated with weight loss, including Ozempic. This shift raises questions about both public discourse and people’s personal relationships with food, health and appearance.

Yet the issue cannot be reduced either to an opposition between “accepting yourself” and “wanting to lose weight,” or to a matter of individual willpower. It involves personal experiences, powerful social expectations and the emergence of medications whose appetite-suppressing effects have transformed discussions of weight loss on social media and in popular culture.

Body positivity: originally a movement against stigma

The origins of the fat acceptance movement date back in particular to 1969, with the creation in the United States of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, often referred to by the acronym NAAFA. The organization aimed to respond to the discrimination experienced by people affected by weight-related bias.

With the internet, followed by forums, blogs and social media, these ideas gained visibility. From the 2010s onward, body positivity became established in the media, fashion and entertainment. Public figures and models with body types that had previously been rarely shown began to occupy a more prominent place in public life.

This development accompanied a growing awareness that reducing obesity to a lack of effort or a simple instruction to “eat less” ignores both the psychological dimension of people’s relationship with food and the violence of stigma. The initial message was largely based on self-acceptance, rejecting constant comparison and putting an end to ridicule directed at bodies that do not conform to dominant standards.

When body acceptance becomes a polarized debate

Over time, some views associated with body positivity came to be perceived as more radical. Some statements suggested that weight had no connection to health, that wanting to lose weight necessarily reflected self-rejection, or that food consumption played no role in changes in weight.

These positions sparked strong criticism. They also created confusion between two distinct ideas: refusing to humiliate or discriminate against someone because of their body, and claiming that every issue related to weight should be excluded from discussion.

Social media has amplified this polarization. On platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, short, highly assertive messages can spread quickly, without always leaving room for nuance. The body positive hashtag has been used in several million Instagram posts, reflecting the scale the movement has reached in the digital space.

Ozempic: from a diabetes treatment to a cultural phenomenon

Ozempic was developed by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk to help people with diabetes regulate their blood sugar levels. Its stated mechanism is to mimic a hormone called GLP-1, which is involved in the feeling of fullness. Among its observed effects is a reduced appetite, which can lead some people to eat less and lose weight.

This property quickly attracted interest beyond diabetes care. From 2021 onward, the use of this type of treatment in efforts to address obesity took an increasingly prominent place in public discussions. Rapid weight loss observed among celebrities fuelled speculation before some public figures stated that they had used these products or comparable treatments.

The drug’s popularity helped turn its name into a cultural shorthand: it became common to attribute dramatic weight loss to Ozempic, sometimes without confirmation from the person concerned. This trend calls for caution: a visible physical transformation alone cannot reveal an individual’s medical, dietary or exercise history.

Why the issue has unsettled some body-positive messages

The controversy intensified when figures known for promoting body acceptance also lost significant amounts of weight. Some explained their changes through a different diet, increased physical activity, a procedure or treatment. Others initially declined to comment, fuelling questions within their communities.

For part of their audience, these changes were experienced as a contradiction. Followers had turned to these creators because they found in their content a source of comfort, away from pressures to be thin. Seeing those same people embark on weight loss could then be interpreted as a sign that body acceptance was not enough when a medical solution became available.

This interpretation remains reductive, however. A person can advocate respect for all bodies while wanting to change their own. They may also be dealing with difficulties related to hunger, emotional distress or goals that cannot be reduced to outside judgment. Body positivity does not necessarily mean that any effort to lose weight is forbidden; the tension arises when highly categorical public messages are later contradicted by personal choices presented differently.

Hunger and people’s relationship with food at the heart of the issue

The rise of Ozempic has brought an essential question back to the centre of the debate: if some people want to lose weight, what makes this difficult without medical help? The answer cannot be limited to laziness or a lack of discipline.

People do not experience their relationship with food in the same way. Eating less may sound simple in abstract terms, but hunger, habits, emotions and the ability to control oneself around food are not the same from one person to another. This is precisely where the appetite-suppressing effects of these treatments have changed the conversation: they have made the role of appetite in the difficulties faced by some people more visible.

From this perspective, sharply opposing people who lose weight “naturally” to those who use medication does not help explain the diversity of situations. A treatment may be seen as support by some people without erasing the issues related to diet, physical activity or psychological experience.

Concerns surrounding weight-loss treatments

Ozempic’s popularity does not mean it is a harmless or universal answer. Critics point in particular to side effects, significant muscle loss and the possibility of regaining weight after stopping treatment. The term “Ozempic face” is also used to describe a face that appears more hollow after rapid weight loss.

Medium- and long-term data remain at the centre of questions, while new products are being developed, including oral versions. Some treatments are presented as promising or potentially better tolerated, but research is still underway for some of them.

Strong demand has also had concrete consequences. In 2023, shortages were reported, making it more difficult for people with diabetes who needed the medication to access it. The high cost of treatment has also encouraged the emergence of competing products, as well as informal channels and counterfeit products presented as affordable on social media.

Towards a less binary debate about weight

The emergence of these medications does not eliminate the need to combat anti-fat stigma. Weight loss should not become a condition for being respected, represented or regarded as legitimate in public life. Likewise, the desire to lose weight does not make it possible to judge a person’s worth or sum up their relationship with themselves.

The main contribution of this debate may be to remind us that weight cannot be reduced to a slogan. Between stigma, acceptance-based discourse, health considerations, difficulties related to appetite and the promise of medical solutions, realities are diverse. A more useful approach is to acknowledge this complexity, without humiliating fat people and without presenting every instance of weight loss as a mandatory victory.

FAQ

Why is Ozempic associated with weight loss?

Ozempic was designed to help people with diabetes regulate their blood sugar levels. Its effect on fullness can reduce appetite, which may lead some people to eat less and therefore lose weight.

Does body positivity forbid wanting to lose weight?

The original message of body positivity is primarily about body acceptance and rejecting stigma. The debate arises when self-acceptance is presented as being absolutely incompatible with any desire for physical change.

What risks have been raised around Ozempic?

Concerns that have been raised include side effects, muscle loss, a face that may appear more hollow after rapid weight loss and the risk of regaining weight after stopping treatment. The medium- and long-term effects of some comparable treatments are still being researched.