Loving Your Body in a World of Weight-Loss Ads

By Tegan Osborne

ABC Lifestyle

Health Topic

July 30, 2026, 3:04 pm

How can you accept your body when weight-loss ads are everywhere?

The rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs can cause strong feelings and opinions, whether you're in a large or small body.

Social media has many before-and-after weight-loss posts and ads that some health professionals call 'unethical'.

Experts say there are good medical reasons to take GLP-1s for weight loss.

Weight-bias expert Virgie Tovar says the GLP-1 era is 'aggressively anti-body positivity'.

Virgie Tovar teaches companies about weight bias in the US.

A weight-loss ad recently upset her, making her change her weekend plans.

Virgie Tovar has an eating disorder history and experiences weight bias.

She says people with vulnerabilities to such messages pay real costs in time and energy.

Our experts discuss weight stigma and diet culture.

Emma Beckett, a food and nutrition scientist, says larger people face a 'lose-lose' situation with GLP-1 drugs.

People on GLP-1 drugs often report fewer thoughts about food.

Dr. Beckett took Ozempic to lose weight and relieve chronic pain.

She studies how genetic differences affect our interaction with food.

Some people accuse those who use weight-loss drugs of taking the easy route.

GLP-1 drugs slow digestion and help people feel full longer.

Dr. Beckett stopped using Ozempic because it limited her food choices.

She believes people should be able to use GLP-1 drugs without judgment.

Dr. Beckett thinks the conversation about GLP-1 weight loss has become silly.

If you need help, please reach out.

Weight stigma and diet culture are major issues.

Dr. Gemma Sharp researches body image, eating, and weight disorders.

She says weight stigma existed before GLP-1 drugs and has negative health consequences.

Dr. Sharp supports the use of GLP-1 drugs when medically appropriate.

She criticizes some marketing strategies for these drugs.

Dr. Sharp says some ads rely on people having poor body image to sell products.

Weight stigma affects people of all sizes.

How can you maintain body positivity in spite of this?

Diet culture has changed over the years.

Get good at spotting diet culture ads.

Diet culture now is different from what it was in 2016.

You can learn to spot these ads again.

Develop a phrase to protect yourself from these ads.

We want to hear about your experiences with body acceptance.

Weight is not the only thing that defines you.

There's evidence that weight alone is not a good measure of health.

People in larger bodies can be fit and healthy.

Body diversity is something to be advocated for.

If your appearance dominates your sense of self, take a step back.

You are more than your body or a number on the scale.

All aspects of yourself make up your self-evaluation.

Investing in other parts of yourself can help with body image.

Focus on what your body can do, not how it looks.

Professor Sharp says focusing on function over form helps build a resilient body image.

Think about what your body allows you to do in life.

Focusing on activities and thanking your body can be helpful.

We don't thank our bodies enough.

Remembering what your body can do can be grounding.

Curate your social media feed and set boundaries.

Limit your exposure to diet culture on social media.

Do an audit of your social media feed to help.

Put space between you and harmful content.

Set boundaries with people who comment on your body.

Weight shaming can happen anywhere.

Set boundaries with people who talk about their weight loss.

You have the right to set boundaries and have them respected.

It's okay to have strong feelings about your body.

People in larger bodies are asked to be understanding of those using GLP-1 drugs.

There's no demand to understand the impact of GLP-1 on mental health.

Ms. Tovar felt hurt when someone she knew used GLP-1 to lose weight.

She felt like her body was someone's worst nightmare.

If thinking about your body is taking up a lot of time, seek help.

You can have a good body image at any weight.

Worrying about your body constantly is a problem.

Poor body image can become a mental health issue.

It's a psychological issue that needs to be dealt with.

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