hen was the last time you thought about your weight? If you’re like most of us, it was probably today — while getting dressed. In the United States, you’d think the greatest achievement in life is fitting into a smaller clothing size. We praise people for their efforts to lose weight, no matter the cost.
And the societal obsession with weight loss has only gotten stronger with the arrival of Ozempic and a . GLP-1 drugs started as treatments for type 2 diabetes and have since been approved for obesity and — all chronic conditions more likely to affect Black Americans. But to think about taking the expensive drugs , as well as centuries of oppression, systemic discrimination, and monitoring of Black bodies.
It’s not easy being Black and living in a larger body in a world that worships whiteness and thinness. So, we wanted to hear voices from the Black community about living in the age of Ozempic. How do Black people feel about their health, the new obesity tools, and the relentless pressure to not be fat? Word In Black and STAT surveyed and conducted extensive interviews with more than a dozen people nationwide.
We wanted to get as many voices from the Black community as possible, but it became clear that the burden to lose weight falls far more often on women. They spoke with brutal honesty as they shared their journey with weight loss, and their encounters with family and a medical system rooted in anti-Blackness. Here are their stories in their own words, edited fo.