Can I Ask Someone if They’re on Ozempic?

Weight loss now comes with a silent asterisk. When bodies change rapidly or noticeably, assumptions often ensue, as does the desire to ask a potentially tricky question: Did medications play a role?

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy test the limits of body talk, leaving many people unsure of what is right or polite to ask, experts say. Here’s how to navigate these conversations.

Consider Your Intentions

Dr. Whitney Casares, a pediatrician in Portland, still remembers the moment when an acquaintance whispered these four meaningful words to him: “Are you taking Ozempic?” » Casares was actually taking a GLP-1 drug, but she wasn’t spreading the news to people on the periphery of her life.

“I could tell by the way she was saying it that it was like, ‘We’ve all been talking about you and I’m the designated person who was sent to find out all the details,'” she says. “It was terrible, because it wasn’t someone I was close to, and it wasn’t someone who revealed anything about their own journey. They just asked me direct questions about mine.”

Learn more: 15 Things to Say When Someone Comments on Your Weight

Before you even consider such a conversation, ask yourself why you want to know, advises Casares. “Are you asking because you feel jealous of this person?” » she said. “Are you asking because you also want to take a GLP-1, or are you asking because you are curious and need to know what is going on in other people’s lives? »

For what What you ask is the most crucial factor in determining what is acceptable to say, agrees Rachel Goldman, a psychologist and clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. If you’re asking because you’re trying to determine whether a GLP-1 makes sense for you, “I think it’s OK,” she says. “But if you’re just asking out of curiosity, you don’t need to know.”

How you phrase it makes the difference

If you’re truly trying to understand and learn from someone’s experience, make that clear up front. Try to be attentive, compassionate and respectful, Goldman says, and open the conversation in a kind, unpretentious way.

You could phrase it this way, for example: “I’ve noticed you’ve been making healthier choices. I’ve been thinking about starting a GLP-1 and I’m wondering if you’ve considered it.” This gives the other person a way out: they can easily ignore or end the conversation if they would rather not engage in it.

If you’re sure someone is taking weight-loss medications, Goldman adds, you can approach the question like this: “I’ve had problems with my weight. Would you be open to a conversation about your experience?” This way, “you’re already showing that vulnerability on your side, which then creates a safer space in which the other person can open up if they want to,” she says.

Learn more: No one knows how to talk about weight loss anymore

Tone matters and curiosity always trumps judgment. Revealing that you’re asking for a personal reason “is very different to me than someone coming to you and asking, ‘Are you on GLP-1?’ with that smirk or with that look of “It would be shameful if you were,” Casares said.

If someone has been transparent about their journey with GLP-1s, they can ask specific follow-up questions, she adds. A word of caution though: don’t bring up the subject out loud or in front of other people. “It should be a private conversation where people don’t feel cornered and either have to lie or disclose something they don’t feel comfortable revealing,” Casares says.

What to say if you are the recipient

Casares is working to be more open about her use of GLP-1, in part to help eliminate the shame and stigma that sometimes surrounds her experience with the drug. She found that people usually start the conversation like this: “Wow, you look great! I didn’t even recognize you.”

“When that happens, I usually come back and say, ‘Yes, I took a GLP-1 and it’s going great. I love it.’ I try to say it as frankly as possible,” she says. If she senses from their eyes that they want to know more, she continues: “A lot of people asked me a lot of questions about GLP1 because they were interested in it. I’m an open book. If you’re interested, I can tell you everything.”

Learn more: Is giving ChatGPT Health your medical records a good idea?

Of course, not everyone wants to make their private health information public – and you don’t have to. Goldman regularly helps clients come up with sample scripts for what to say when someone asks them if they are on GLP-1, because many feel blindsided when that happens and don’t want to share them.

Many reported successfully ending the conversation with phrases like these: “I’m making healthier choices. I’m going to the gym. I’m watching what I eat or I’m working with a health professional.”