Her recent turn to pharmaceuticals – she uses a prescription weight loss drug as needed – has sparked new conversations about how such drugs offer “relief, redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for”. This re-framing – as drugs for a medical condition, not a personal failing – has turned weight loss drugs from whispered secret into social talking point.
Celebrity endorsement and medical shifts
The era of “miracle injections” didn’t arrive in a vacuum. It followed years of struggle for those whose bodies didn’t respond to diet and willpower alone. Blumenthal’s journey mirrors countless others, though his visibility makes it headline news.
The chef’s weight gain was a side effect of strong bipolar medication – a medical context that’s increasingly common as the boundaries between mental health and metabolic health blur.
Winfrey, too, described how pharmaceuticals allowed her finally to “stop shaming ourselves,” declaring: “Obesity is a disease. It’s not about willpower – it’s about the brain.” These celebrity voices have propelled once-niche diabetes drugs, like Ozempic and Wegovy, into mainstream consciousness, with Australian doctors reporting a tidal wave of daily requests for weight loss drug prescriptions.
The Numbers: How many are taking weight loss drugs?
The drug boom is not limited to red carpet personalities. Prescription numbers tell a story of explosive growth. In the 2023–24 financial year, there were a staggering 2,397,521 subsidised prescriptions for semaglutide drugs (like Ozempic and Wegovy) under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Off-label use, which is both legal and rampant, is believed to be many times higher, though exact numbers are impossible to track.
Private scripts – required if patients use drugs for weight loss rather than diabetes – are surging. Many patients pay upwards of $150 per month, sometimes much more, driving the market into the millions. “The deployment of GLP‐1 RAs for treatment of obesity has the potential to impact one‐third of Australians,” experts recently wrote, noting that with 66 per cent of adults classified as overweight or obese in 2022, the demand was always destined to snowball.
Drug shortages and access battles
With such insatiable demand, supply has become a crisis. Australia faces an ongoing shortage of Ozempic, with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) repeatedly warning of unpredictable availability through the end of 2025. The manufacturers, NovoNordisk and Eli Lilly, attribute the global shortage to mass off-label prescribing for weight loss – with doctors unable to refuse patient requests despite the original intent of these drugs being for diabetes.
Efforts to broaden subsidised access have met resistance. Medicare only covers these drugs for those with type 2 diabetes, a position that leaves many Australians forced to pay hundreds per month out of pocket. As Minister Mark Butler explained, “There’s the cost, the number of people who are going to be taking them, whether they’re on the PBS or not… This is going to be a very, very big challenge for us”. The political debate is alive, with petitions for Wegovy and Mounjaro to be listed for obesity and new government reports calling for equity of access.
Social and industry impact
The threat Blumenthal hints at is not idle: the chef warns that widespread drug use could “topple the food industry,” as appetite suppressants rewire the way Australians experience hunger and fullness. Already, doctors are fielding repeated queries from patients keen to jump on the injectable bandwagon – almost half of GPs say they get asked about weight loss drugs at least once per day.
Older Australians are among the most enthusiastic adopters of prescription weight loss drugs, driven by the reality that losing weight becomes increasingly difficult as the years pass.
Age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia), hormonal changes, and slower metabolism all combine to make traditional diet and exercise approaches less effective for people over 60. According to health experts, this group faces unique challenges: “As individuals age, muscle mass naturally decreases, leading to a decrease in metabolism and a potential increase in body fat. With less muscle, the body burns fewer calories, even at rest, making weight loss a slower process”.
The appeal of these new injectable medications to older Australians is twofold – efficacy and access to renewed energy and mobility. Many report dramatic improvements, like Susan, who started weight-loss medication in her late 60s and shared: “I know that I may put the weight straight back on if I stop the medication, but I take it for health reasons, given that being overweight increases the risk factor for many different cancers and also arthritis. I am grateful for medical supervision and being able to lose weight in a supportive environment”. The clinical community has noted that medical adoption is highest among those who find exercise alone is not enough, particularly after menopause and andropause, when hormonal changes further complicate weight management.
This surge has led to intensified calls for PBS subsidy extensions, as older Australians are often managing several health conditions at once – obesity, heart disease, arthritis -making effective weight management critically important. Many doctors now view GLP-1 drugs as “life-saving” for older patients struggling with mobility, pain, and energy loss. The weight loss solutions offered by these medications are not just about vanity, but about regaining functionality, independence, and quality of life in later years.
Simultaneously, younger Australians are joining the trend at an alarming rate, with reports of children using the drugs to manage both obesity and diabetes. The market share of weight loss drugs, including performance and image-enhancing medications, jumped from 4.7 per cent in June 2024 to 7.2 per cent by May 2025. These numbers may understate the true scale, as social media influencers, fitness coaches, and wellness companies drive demand.
Comparing efficacy: Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro
The performance of these drugs is rewriting clinical textbooks. Studies show that up to 86 per cent of participants taking semaglutide-based drugs (Ozempic, Wegovy) lose at least 5 per cent body weight. Mounjaro, which leverages dual hormone mimicry, resulted in even greater average weight loss: up to 20.2 per cent body weight loss, compared with 13.7 per cent for Wegovy. With these numbers, it’s no wonder that medical experts now argue that drug therapy will soon outrank diet and exercise as first-line treatment for obesity.
Stigma, cost, and the changing conversation
Experts point to a socioeconomic divide: those who need these drugs most, often in lower-income groups, are least able to afford them. Dr Terri-Lynne South of the RACGP summed up the equity challenge: “Patients who often need these medications the most are the ones who can least afford it”.
Oprah’s special was clear-eyed about the need to end shaming and see obesity as a disease, not a moral failure. “It is conclusively known that the conditions of overweight and obesity are complex, chronic disease states, not character flaws,” Dr Jen Ashton told Winfrey, reshaping the conversation for millions.
Australia’s Future: Medicine or Willpower?
Australia is living through a watershed moment. With nearly one in three adults living with obesity, and prescription numbers climbing by hundreds of thousands per year, weight loss drugs will not remain a celebrity secret. Chefs, TV hosts, doctors – even parents – must confront a new reality, where pharmaceutical intervention may be as common as a gym pass or a diet plan. And as Heston Blumenthal’s curious paradox shows, the revolution is not just personal – it’s a full-scale transformation of the national relationship with food, health, and self-worth.
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO This article is of a general nature and FYI only, because it doesn’t take into account your personal health requirements or existing medical conditions. That means it’s not personalised health advice and shouldn’t be relied upon as if it is. Before making a health-related decision, you should work out if the info is appropriate for your situation and get professional medical advice.