Over the last decade, the movement body positive seemed to have changed the conversation about the body. The catwalks began to show a greater diversity of sizes, brands incorporated curvy models and the idea of accepting one’s own body without pursuing an impossible ideal became popular on social networks.
However, in recent years something began to change. The emergence of weight loss medications such as Ozempic -originally developed to treat diabetes- coincided with a new cultural turn: celebrities, influencers and public figures began to appear increasingly thinner, reactivating debates that seemed outdated.
The question that many specialists are beginning to ask is uncomfortable but inevitable: Are we facing the return of the cult of extreme thinness?
Ozempic and other drugs from the same family (GLP-1) were created to regulate blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes, but quickly began to be used for weight loss as well. The drug works by reducing appetite and slowing gastric emptying, causing a significant decrease in food consumption.
Its popularity has grown explosively in recent years, especially in the United States and in the entertainment industry. Several celebrities have admitted to using medications of this type, while others have had to publicly respond to rumors about their use.
The conversation intensified when some public figures began to appear with noticeable physical changes in very short periods. One of the most talked about episodes was that of Kim Kardashian, who had a rapid weight loss to be able to wear Marilyn Monroe’s historic dress during the 2022 Met Gala. From that moment on, the term “silueta Ozempic” It began to circulate strongly on social networks and international media, associated with the growing popularity of these drugs as a tool to lose weight quickly.
When bodies become a trend
Social networks amplified the phenomenon. Every public appearance of a celebrity with a visibly slimmer body generates thousands of comments, analyzes and theories. Even artists like Ariana Grande have publicly asked to stop giving opinions about people’s bodies, remembering that the story behind physical changes is never known. Still, the discussion persists. For many specialists, the problem is not the drug itself, but the cultural message it can reinforce when it becomes omnipresent.
Some cultural analysts warn that the combination between slimming medications, aesthetic pressure and constant exposure on networks It is generating a new stage of obsession with thinness.
Was body positive just a phase?
During the 2010s, the body positive movement sought to challenge the idea that only certain bodies were acceptable. However, that cultural transformation could have been more fragile than it seemed.
In the fashion industry, for example, the presence of plus-size models decreased noticeably on some recent catwalks. At New York Fashion Week, The number of plus-size models went from 70 in 2023 to just 23 in 2024.
For many activists, this setback shows that body inclusion still depends too much on market trends.
The contemporary paradox
The current debate is crossed by a cultural contradiction. On the one hand, there is greater awareness about body diversity and the damage caused by unrealistic beauty standards. But at the same time, access to new technologies (from medications to cosmetic surgeries) makes body modification easier and faster than ever.
Some public figures even report that social pressure can push people to lose weight to avoid stigma. The singer Lizzo, for example, warned that the rise of weight-loss drugs could end “erasing” the visibility of large bodies in popular culture.
A debate that has just begun
The Ozempic phenomenon opened an uncomfortable conversation about the body, health, and social expectations. While some celebrate the emergence of new medical tools to treat obesity, others warn that the problem was never solely biological, but cultural.
Recent history shows that beauty ideals change rapidly. What is under discussion today is not just a drug or a fad, but What type of bodies does society decide to value and which ones does it once again make invisible?. And that question, far from being resolved, seems to be just beginning.
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