Media maven Oprah Winfrey stirred controversy during a recent “The Oprah Podcast” episode with Yale University obesity medicine physician Dr. Ania Jastreboff. The converoversial conversation challenged her long-held beliefs about weight, willpower, and obesity.  Their conversation revealed a profound shift in the “The Color Purple” producer’s understanding of weight management, sparking intense online debate about body size and societal perceptions on why some people are heavy and others are thin. The interview seemed to rub some the wrong way when Winfrey candidly shared her previous misconceptions about thin people.  “One of the things that I realized the very first time I took a GLP-1 was that all these years I thought that thin people—those people—just had more willpower,” she explained.  Media maven Oprah Winfrey is under fire for saying that “thin people” don’t think about food the same way that heavier people do. (Photo: @oprah / Instagram) Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications are used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity. Some of the most popular GLP-1 medications are Ozempic, Wegovy, and, Mounjaro. Winfrey added that she believed, “They ate better foods. They were able to stick to it longer. They never had a potato chip.” Now she doesn’t believe that. “They’re not even thinking about it,” she said of thin people. “They’re eating when they’re hungry and they’re stopping when they’re full.”  Winfrey’s revelation centered on what she calls “food noise” — persistent hunger thoughts that complicate weight management.  She emphasized that this approach “doesn’t work if you have obesity.” Oprah’s perspective transformed after taking a GLP-1 medication in December 2023.  “I realized I’d been blaming myself all these years for being overweight,” Winfrey explained. “I have a predisposition that no amount of willpower is going to control. Obesity is a disease. It’s not about willpower — it’s about the brain.” After Winfrey posted a clip from the podcast on her Instagram, a few of her 22.5 million followers were quick to blast her for her initial thinking. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Oprah Daily (@oprahdaily) “Thin people also think about food all the time, but they work hard to manage their physical and mental needs in a healthy way, and not by taking medication,” one commenter pushed back.  Another added a personal perspective, “I beg to differ- My experience is that while I may be thin… I DO think about food, & I would love to snack at any time. Not immune to the cravings.” One person snapped, “To characterize thin people wholesale in this manner is just a lie @oprah.” The commenter continued, “There are many thin people, or others who are a healthy weight but not necessarily ‘thin’ who do in fact draw on willpower and strategic tactics to keep their weight down. They create an environment that unlike most of our society, is NOT obesogenic. I forbid myself from eating until I’ve walked for an hour. That’s willpower.” The person went on to say everything is about “intention,” and  that they “eat very few ultra processed foods” and drinks about “two cups of water before each meal,” to stay lean and healthy. The media mogul was brutally honest about her lifelong struggle with weight and public scrutiny.  “Every week [I was] exploited by the tabloids,” she recalled. “Anytime any comedian wanted to make fun or make a joke about it, they would make a joke about it. And I accepted it because I thought I deserved it.” Some critics were less sympathetic.  “Oprah made her weight an issue. If she were not so obsessed with it, her audience wouldn’t have been,” one Page Six reader suggested. Others appreciated her candor about societal treatment of weight. One X user agreed with her, tweeting, “As much as a rip on Oprah I think she’s right on this. People that are naturally thin (their mom is thin, they’re thin, whatever they do) probably just aren’t as hungry as other people. Probably genetic, also microbiome. But they aren’t superior beings from a discipline standpoint.” As much as a rip on Oprah I think she’s right on this. People that are naturally thin (their mom is thin, they’re thin, whatever they do) probably just aren’t as hungry as other people. Probably genetic, also microbiome. But they aren’t superior beings from a discipline…— Darwin's Money (@EverydayFinance) January 23, 2025 Winfrey was particularly pointed about the stigma surrounding weight.  “There is a condescension. There is a stigma,” she acknowledged. “I am Oprah Winfrey and I know all that comes with that and I get treated differently if I am 200-plus pounds versus under 200 pounds.” Her podcast episode ultimately reignited a crucial conversation about obesity, societal perceptions, and the complex factors underlying weight management. By challenging conventional wisdom, Winfrey hoped to prompt a deeper, more compassionate discourse about body health and individual experiences. Oprah Winfrey’s Shocking Thoughts on Thin People Sparks Debate Amongst Loyal Fans