Oprah Winfrey, 71, says she regrets not using GLP-1s sooner because of the 'wasted sadness and shame'

• Oprah Winfrey, 71, says she views GLP-1 medications as a "tool" to help her manage obesity.
• The "food noise" went away within hours on the first day she took a GLP-1 medication, she said.
• "I have regret that I didn't discover it in 2013," Winfrey said.

Oprah Winfrey, 71, says growing older has made her more appreciative of her health, especially after using GLP-1s to manage obesity.

In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Winfrey spoke about how learning that obesity is a disease helped her stop seeing her weight as a personal failure.

"I'm not going to, but I could weep right now for all of the many days and nights I've journaled about this being my fault and why can't I conquer this thing?" Winfrey told host Jane Pauley.

Winfrey said the "food noise" in her head went away within hours on the first day she took a GLP-1 medication.

"There are tools to use that can help you. And I do see it as a tool," she said.

"I have become indifferent to food. I still love it. I still love it. But I'm not in any way obsessed about it," she said.

Winfrey added that she's come to see the medication as something she needs to continue taking to manage obesity. If anything, she wishes she had known about it earlier.

"I have regret that I didn't discover it in 2013. I have regret that, oh my gosh, this has been going on for over 12 years now, and I didn't know about it," she said.

"I think about the wasted time. The wasted time, the wasted sadness and shame about it. I think about the wasted years," Winfrey said.

Still, Winfrey said she has a new appreciation for her health and how she feels in her body today.

"I am just happy. This is what I feel. I feel that when I was 40 and ran a marathon, I certainly could appreciate the strength that it took to do that and the work that it took to get into that shape," she said. "But there's something about being 71 that gives you a perspective and the long view of appreciation that's unlike any other time in your life."

Winfrey added that while she felt good at 40, being strong and healthy at 71 has been much more meaningful.

"Because what it takes to be in the best shape of your life when you're 71 is a whole lot more than when you're 40," she added.

Her lifelong struggles with weight have led her to recognize the value of having treatment options today.

"I have a sense of gratitude that I was able to live in a time where these medications were made available to people to change their lives," she said.

Winfrey first revealed that she was using a type of GLP-1 medication in December 2023, but didn't disclose which one.

In December 2025, Winfrey told People that she went off the medication for a year because she wanted to prove that she could "do without it," but ended up gaining 20 pounds.

"It's going to be a lifetime thing. I'm on high blood pressure medication, and if I go off the high blood pressure medication, my blood pressure is going to go up. The same thing is true now, I realize, with these medications. I've proven to myself I need it," Winfrey said.

GLP-1 drugs, such as semaglutide, work by regulating hunger signals, allowing people to feel full while consuming less. However, these drugs can cause gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea and diarrhoea. Research has also shown that it is not uncommon for patients to regain the weight after stopping treatment.