Will the admission of weight loss of Serena Williams help to lose the stigma of anti-obsity drugs?

Serena Williams, one of the most prosperous athletes of all time, has spoken of the use of weight loss drugs – she says, to raise “stigmatization” around these drugs.

Do his outspoken comments instill a new feeling of confidence in those who consume drugs? And could his honesty appease criticism?

The 43 -year -old tennis star, who broke records and won 23 Grand Chelem titles during his career, was the embodiment of physical form and sports prowess. But, after having children, even she, like many of us, admitted having trouble changing these excess books.

In the end, Williams told Teday Show on television in the United States that she had to consider her additional weight as a “opponent”. Despite “training five hours a day” and “running, walking, cycling, climbing stairs”, she could not spray this opponent as she did to her opponents on the tennis court – so in the end, she said, she had no choice but to “try something different”.

Many of her friends used GLP -1 – The group of drugs that contribute to weight loss, so she decided to try it.

Williams is categorical on the fact that the path of drugs – she will not say what brand it takes – has not been easy, and certainly not a shortcut towards its loss of 31 lb (14 kg) in the last eight months.

There is skepticism about the time of the recent transparency of the tennis star-she has just become spokesperson for RO, a company that sells GLP-1 brands like Wegovy and Zepbound (known as Mounjaro in the United Kingdom) thanks to her weight loss program, and her husband is also an investor.

Despite this and the potential side effects of taking the drug, her honesty will hit a nerve for many – she says she speaks to remove shame that so many women feel when it comes to using medications to help them lose weight.

Caleb Luna, deputy professor of feminist studies at the University of California, says that someone like Serena Williams is “a breakthrough”.

They say that it helps to silence criticism of how “weight loss is achieved” that say that “people take the easy solution” using weight loss drugs.

“This gets rid of the stereotype that these drugs are intended for large people who are lazy and incompetent.

“In this regard, it may be a good thing.”

But Caleb also says that the revelation concerning its need to use the use of GLP-1 drugs is slightly “terrifying” and makes them “a little sad”. They fear that everything he does is to minimize hard work and dedication, rather focusing on appearance and pressure to look in some way.

“She has done things that so few people, in our time and through history, have achieved.

“But now it shows how all these achievements can be mined by body size.

“Scary, weight loss seems to overshadow all these record achievements.”

The weight of Williams and his appearance were examined throughout his life. The burden, the pressure to adapt to the expectations of society does not decrease, regardless of the sporting success that an athlete has in his career.

And even if it can be the most high -end sport star which openly uses weight loss drugs, there are many others in the eyes of the public that have spoken.

Oprah Winfrey says that it uses GLP-1 as a tool, as well as exercise and a healthy diet, to stop “yo-yoin” with its weight.

Actress Whoopi Goldberg says that she lost the weight of “two people” after taking drugs, and singer Kelly Clarkson, who says that she was “pursued” by her “doctor for two years” before she agreed to take it, are among the dozens of stars that have been opened to take the medicine.

Williams left the world of tennis behind in 2022, when she played the last match of her career in the United States, but she is still a power of strength and wanted to achieve what she describes as her “healthy weight” since the birth of her second child, Adina.

In her interview with The Today Show, said that she had the impression that her “body was missing something” and that she could not go to what she felt comfortable – despite intense training.

Dr. Claire Madigan, main research partner in behavioral medicine at the sports, exercise and health science school at the University of Loughborough, says that elite athletes can have trouble losing weight.

“They are used to consuming a lot of calories and when they leave sport, they can have trouble – it needs a change in behavior.”

Dr. Madigan said it was good to see that Williams said that his weight loss was not only due to the medication – “she had to focus on diet and physical activity”.

She added: “It’s great that she talks about the difficulty of losing weight after having a baby.”

But she wonders if Williams’ message could be lost and even demotivate certain women. “The drugs are quite expensive and the average person may think that here is an elite athlete, he has access to the gymnasium, she has time, she has a nutritionist … and she had to use GLP-1”.

Dr. Madigan also expressed his concerns that the potential side effects of taking medication – which may include gastrointestinal problems such as vomiting and diarrhea, and in rare cases, the problems of the gallbladder and renal gallows – may not have been widely discussed in advertising surrounding Williams.

Williams says she had no side effects and told Women’s Health magazine that she finally saw the advantages of all her hard work at the gymnasium.

“My joints are much better,” she said, “I just made an assessment, and the doctor said everything – including my blood sugar – looked great.”

And, even if, she no longer recruits new fields on tennis courts, she still breaks her own records, with help, she says weight loss drugs. She is currently training for a half-marathon.

“I run further than ever,” she said proudly.

Additional report by Alex Kleiderman