The Oprah Winfrey Show was the highest-rated talk show for over two decades until it ended in 2011. The former talk show host has been open about her health struggles over the years. In a shocking comment, she compared her struggles to alcoholism. Keep reading to find out why.

Oprah Winfrey Opens Up About Side Effects Of Weight-Loss Drugs

Oprah Winfrey has famously struggled with her weight since her talk show debuted in 1986. She tried all kinds of diets and exercise programs to lose the weight. Despite being successful several times, the weight always came back. The talk show host was a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers for nearly a decade before she left the program unexpectedly in 2024.

At the time, she cited a possible conflict of interest over a special she did about weight-loss drugs. Oprah Winfrey disclosed that she herself used the controversial method to lose weight. She recently joined Today with Jenna & Sheinelle in New York City to promote her new book Enough: Your Health, Your Weight, and What It’s Like To Be Free, which she co-wrote with endocrinologist Dr. Ania M. Jastreboff.

The doctor told the hosts that nausea, diarrhea, and constipation are the most common side effects of weight-loss drugs. Oprah Winfrey revealed that she only suffered nausea, which she countered by drinking a gallon of water a day.

The former talk show host opened up about what happened when she went off the medication last year as a test. Oprah Winfrey quickly regained 20 pounds, causing her to realize that she’ll be on the weight-loss drugs for the rest of her life.

“If you’re on blood pressure medication, you get your blood pressure to the level that your doctor says is healthy for you, you come off the medication, your blood pressure is gonna go up. The same thing is true for this. I know it ’cause I proved it,” she said.

She Compares Her ‘Chronic Disease’ To Alcoholism

Oprah Winfrey’s new book is about reframing obesity as a disease, not a moral failing. She candidly opened up to Jenna Bush Hager about thinking her weight struggles were from a lack of willpower. However, the weight-loss medication gave her new insight.

“Now I know that it has nothing to do with willpower. It has everything to do with your biology,” Oprah Winfrey said on the Today Show.

She went on to talk about how the first episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show back in 1986 addressed alcoholism. Then, she recalled the audience being skeptical, suggesting alcoholics could just put the bottle down.

“People did not recognize — refused to recognize — that alcoholism is a disease. And so, now we’re saying the same thing about obesity,” she said, comparing obesity to alcoholism.

Oprah Winfrey added, “It’s a disease. It’s a chronic disease. You have to manage it. And even when you think you’ve gotten to your goal weight, it’s not the answer because what the medications do is manage the set point in your body.”

What do you think about her comparing obesity to alcoholism? Moreover, do you agree with this analogy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.