By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-11 18:47:34 | Updated at 2026-08-11 19:14:56
1 hour ago
Oprah has claimed that an 'obesity gene' caused her to overeat as she praised GLP-1s for her incredible weight loss transformation.
After struggling for years with 'yo-yo dieting' and 'food addiction,' the talk show host shared in December 2023 that she had started using weight loss jabs.
And in January, she revealed she was down to 155lbs – 82 less than when she was at her heaviest.
Now, during a recent appearance on The View, the TV star, 72, insisted that an 'obesity gene' had caused her years-long battle with 'food noise' before she started using weight loss jabs.
'All these years ... I was standing there with all the food noise, [thinking about] what I ate, what I should eat, how many calories was [in what I ate] and how long it was going to take [to burn off]. And I thought that was because of me and that it was my fault,' she said.
'Now I understand that if you carry the obesity gene, that is what makes you overeat. You don't overeat and become obese, obesity causes you to overeat.
'Obesity causes you to have all that food noise. What GLP-1s have done for me and a number of other people is quiet that noise.'
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously noted that 'no single genetic cause has been identified' in obesity.
Oprah has claimed that an 'obesity gene' caused her to overeat as she praised GLP-1s for her 80-pound weight loss
During a recent appearance on The View, she reflected on spending years battling 'food noise' and overthinking everything she ate
'Since 2006, genome-wide association studies have found more than 50 genes associated with obesity, most with very small effects,' it notes.
'Most obesity seems to be multifactorial, that is, the result of complex interactions among many genes and environmental factors.'
Throughout her impressive, decades-long career, Oprah has not shied away from discussing her rollercoaster-ride weight loss journey with the public.
Her issues with weight began in 1976, when she landed her first 'big job' at age 22.
The then 148-pound reporter said she struggled to come to grips with the immense pressure that was put on her, and began to pig out on things like 'corn dogs,' 'chocolate chip cookies,' and fast food from the mall food court to suppress her emotions and 'numb her negative feelings.'
Her weight soon soared to over 200 pounds, and she began trying 'every diet known to womankind.'
In 1988, just two years after she launched the Oprah Winfrey Show, the TV legend revealed during an episode of her show that she had lost 67 pounds in four months thanks to an all-liquid diet.
In reality, she later revealed that she had 'starved herself' and messed up her 'metabolism,' which ultimately resulted in her gaining it all back and then-some pretty quickly.
The TV star, 72, insisted that an 'obesity gene' had caused her years-long battle with 'food noise' before she started using weight loss jabs
After struggling for years with 'yo-yo dieting' and 'food addiction,' the talk show host shared in December 2023 that she had started using weight loss jabs. She's seen left in 1986 and right in January
By the early 1990s, the self-confessed yo-yo dieter was at her heaviest – 237 pounds – and feeling 'so ashamed' to have 'joined the ranks of the perpetually obese' that she said she could hardly look people in the eye.
She recalled feeling like a 'big fat failure.' But after connecting with a personal trainer at a spa in Colorado, he helped inspire her to turn things around.
For years after that, Oprah's weight fluctuated. With the help of her new trainer, it dropped down to 160 pounds by 2006, but within two years after that, it was back up to 200 pounds.
At the time, she said a slew of health woes were to blame for the weight gain, and admitted that she was once again feeling 'defeated' and was just about ready to 'give up' and let 'fat win.'
However, in 2015, she joined forces with the company Weight Watchers, and within a year, she said she had lost 40 pounds through the program.
But she had another set back in late 2021, with her later revealing in January 2022 that she was undergoing a diet 'reset' after consuming quite a lot during the holidays.
In November 1988 (seen) - two years after launching the Oprah Winfrey Show - the talk show revealed she had lost a whopping 67 pounds in just four months thanks to a 'liquid diet'
And while the results were impressive at the time, Oprah (seen left in 1986 and right in 1988) later admitted that she had 'starved herself' after trying 'every diet known to womankind'
For years after that, Oprah's weight fluctuated. With the help of a new trainer, it dropped down to 160 pounds by 2006, but within two years after that, it was back up to 200 pounds. She's seen in 2009
Throughout 2023, many people started to notice that Oprah was looking thinner than ever, and rumors that she was taking Ozempic erupted.
She initially denied using GLP-1s, however, in an interview with People that December, she confirmed that she had begun taking a weight loss jab to quiet the 'food noise,' but did not specify which one.
She said: 'The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for.
'I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.'
When she began taking the medication, she said she had what she called an 'aha moment' – she had been blaming herself for her weight all these years when in reality, she had a 'predisposition that no amount of willpower was going to control.'
She also said she incorporated regular exercise, such as hiking, to help her shed unwanted pounds.
