Oprah Winfrey, the billionaire media mogul, talk-show host, journalist, and producer, has made her personal health journey a central part of her public narrative—and at times, a highly lucrative business.
In January 2026, Winfrey released her 12th book, Enough: Your Health, Your Weight, and What It’s Like to Be Free, co-authored with Dr. Ania M. Jastreboff, a Yale School of Medicine professor. The book explores Winfrey’s experiences with GLP-1 drugs, a class of medications designed to support weight loss, which she first publicly discussed using in December 2023 on CNN.
Winfrey has long combined her health and fitness advocacy with business ventures. Over the years, she has invested in WeightWatchers (now WW International), authored health-focused books, highlighted exercise and nutrition trends on her show and magazine, and endorsed figures such as Dr. Mehmet Oz, now head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
From Public Scrutiny to Personal Transformation
Winfrey’s openness about her weight challenges began decades ago. She has recounted instances from the 1980s and 1990s when her weight became a subject of public commentary. In her 2017 cookbook Food, Health and Happiness, Winfrey recalled a moment with Joan Rivers on The Tonight Show in 1985, when Rivers bluntly asked about her weight gain. Winfrey later described the experience as “public sport” to mock her weight for 25 years.
On The Oprah Winfrey Show, she often addressed weight loss directly. In a 1988 episode, she famously wheeled a red wagon filled with 67 pounds of animal fat to demonstrate the weight she had lost on the Optifast liquid diet. While the segment drew attention to medically supervised diets, Winfrey later called it “one of the biggest ego trips” of her life.
Her first health-focused book, Make the Connection: Ten Steps to a Better Body and a Better Life (1998), co-written with personal trainer Bob Greene, became a No. 1 bestseller. The book offered guidance on exercise, balanced diets, and structured eating routines.
Influencing the Health Media Landscape
In the late 1990s and 2000s, Winfrey introduced audiences to Dr. Phil McGraw and Dr. Mehmet Oz, both of whom became prominent health figures. Dr. Phil hosted a long-running spinoff from Winfrey’s show, while Dr. Oz appeared multiple times before launching his own program in 2009. Both focused heavily on health and weight-loss topics, reflecting Winfrey’s influence in shaping public health discourse.
Business Ventures and the “Oprah Effect”
Winfrey leveraged her platform for business success, notably through her investment in WeightWatchers in 2015. Purchasing a 10% stake valued at $43 million, her endorsement led to a $400 million surge in the company’s market value. Her social media posts continued to influence stock prices, exemplifying the so-called “Oprah Effect.”
She integrated WeightWatchers into her 2017 cookbook, highlighting the program’s point-based system, and launched the 2020 “2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus Tour” sponsored by WW, which grossed $18.8 million and featured celebrity guests such as Tina Fey, Michelle Obama, and Jennifer Lopez.
GLP-1 Medications and a New Approach
Winfrey’s recent health focus centers on GLP-1 drugs. In 2023, she publicly shared her use of these medications, emphasizing the importance of combining pharmaceutical tools with lifestyle adjustments. WeightWatchers also embraced GLP-1 treatments, launching its own initiative and seeing stock gains as a result.
Her new book Enough reflects a broader perspective, encouraging readers to reframe their relationship with weight and obesity. Winfrey shared on CBS Sunday Morning that GLP-1 medications are a helpful tool, but stressed the importance of self-compassion in the journey toward health: “There are tools to use that can help you. And I do see [GLP-1s] as a tool,” she said.
