Ozempic, also known as semaglutide, is an FDA-approved diabetes drug that is a GLP-1 drug, reducing appetite and slowing stomach emptying, making users feel full longer. Although not its original purpose, celebrities and influencers alike have started to use it for weight loss, creating a new fad called “Ozempic skinny,” as coined by the media.
“Ozempic skinny” is usually recognized by the loss of buccal fat in the face, classified as Ozempic face, as well as rapid weight loss in other parts of the body. Promotions from celebrities like Elon Musk, who dubbed himself “Ozempic Santa,” and Oprah Winfrey, claiming her injections are now a lifetime thing, pushed the drug into the public’s eye as a weight loss drug.
@elonmusk. Elon Musk on X, “Ozempic Santa”. Dec. 25, 2024.
However, while Ozempic is just the medium that’s being used to achieve skinny, the fact is that skinny is coming back. Many approach thinness in beauty standards with apprehension, remembering the 2000s and 90s, where the pressure for a perfect body was reaching what can only be described as a hysterical fear of being labeled fat.
While body perfection pressures are nothing new, shaming healthy bodies into unrealistic levels of skinny is extremely reminiscent of the 2000s and 90s.
Many celebrities talked at length about the body shaming they went through. Jokes surrounding Kate Winslet on her role in “Titanic” were ruthless, with Joan Rivers claiming that if Winslet lost a few pounds, maybe the Titanic wouldn’t have sunk. Recently, when Winslet was asked about her response to people who criticized her so harshly, she said, “I let them have it, I said, ‘I hope this haunts you’.”
Skinny being equated with beauty itself arose as a concept as early as the 1700s, when consumption chic was the modern-day heroin chic. Frailty and vulnerability became extremely romanticized. The standard became cemented with the release of media like “La Traviata,” which showcased a consumptive heroine, ingraining the look in the culture.
We saw it again in the 2000s through media like the infamous Victoria’s Secret shows and in cultural icons like Kate Moss and Natalia Vodianova. This seemingly unending cycle of beauty trends once again is rearing its head. Most notably seen in media like “Wicked” and in recent award shows like the 2026 Golden Globes.
The beauty industry profits from people’s unrealistic standards. So, to be successful, they have to create standards that meet the criteria for their products’ customer base. The beauty industry has a bad habit of manufacturing demand by creating and pointing out insecurities in its media, ads and sponsorships. Unfortunately, it works very well, which is why Ozempic is emptying off the shelves to the point that underground secret black markets have begun to form.
Ozempic, at its core, is a cheat code to losing weight. Band-aid solutions for weight loss mean that once the doses end, the weight gain begins. If people do not make major changes to their lifestyle, then results are often not permanent, creating a desperate reliance on the drug instead of any meaningful, health-concern-motivated weight loss.
Demanding perfection in appearances doesn’t come without consequences. After the skinny epidemic of the 2000s, eating disorders rose from 3.5% to 7.8%. Furthermore, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Kristen Francis, a psychiatrist at Huntsman Mental Health Institute, stated that “starvation makes people more depressed, anxious, and suicidal.”
Eating disorders can affect anyone. If you or somebody you know is struggling with an eating disorder, do not hesitate to contact the National Eating Disorder Association Helpline at 1-800-931-2237.
