How Weight Loss Drugs Undermine Eating Disorder Recovery

Ozempic, a medication initially created to treat type 2 diabetes, has rapidly gained popularity for its off-label use in weight loss. Fueled by celebrity endorsements and social media hype, it has become a symbol of our culture’s obsession with shrinking bodies. But while the spotlight shines on its appetite-suppressing effects, the conversation often overlooks how this trend harms individuals in eating disorder recovery and reinforces dangerous societal norms.

For those recovering from eating disorders, reconnecting with their body’s natural hunger and fullness cues is a key part of healing. Ozempic disrupts this process by suppressing appetite, making it harder to eat intuitively. Additionally, many eating disorders are rooted in control and restriction—behaviors that medications like Ozempic can enable or even encourage. By focusing on weight loss, these drugs may also delay the emotional healing that’s essential in recovery, pulling attention away from underlying issues such as anxiety, trauma, or self-worth. For people who are underweight or malnourished, Ozempic can pose serious medical risks, including slowed digestion, nausea, and nutrient deficiencies.

The problem, however, extends beyond the medication itself. Ozempic fits neatly into a broader system of diet culture—a set of beliefs that glorify thinness, pathologize natural hunger, and promote appetite suppression as wellness. This culture equates health with weight loss and implies that smaller bodies are better bodies. For people in recovery, it sends a harmful message: that their progress only counts if it results in weight loss. For people in larger bodies, it reinforces shame and pressure to conform to a narrow beauty ideal.

True eating disorder recovery is not about control—it’s about reconnection. Healing involves eating consistently, honoring hunger and fullness, letting go of rigid food rules, and accepting body changes as part of the process. While Ozempic may promise control, real recovery means choosing nourishment, flexibility, and self-compassion instead.