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Fitness guru, model, and television personality Brooke Burke is speaking out against quick-fix weight loss strategies amid the recent Ozempic craze.
In a June 3 interview with Page Six, the 53-year-old said the medication, which has become especially popular in helping achieve rapid weight loss, has altered the obesity landscape but can be detrimental.
“I’m not mad at it if someone is disciplined enough to weight train, to do their blood work and to eat,” she told the outlet. “What drives me crazy is people that want a quick fix, they want to starve their body, and they don’t understand the value of weight training.”
Ozempic, also known as semaglutide—the active ingredient in the drug—is used to treat type 2 diabetes in adults that is not satisfactorily controlled. In recent years, the medication has helped patients lose weight by slowing down digestion and curbing appetite.
“We’re seeing this depleted look because people are losing their appetite. That’s the hormone, right? It helps you curb your appetite. They’re not eating. That’s terrible for your metabolism. That is terrible for everything,” she added.
“I know we wanna cheat the system as Americans, we do. We’re looking for that quick fix; it’s not necessarily sustainable.”
According to a 2024 Columbia University report, “anti-obesity medications are now prescribed to an estimated 6 percent of Americans, with prescriptions nearly doubling each year since 2019.”
In 2017, Burke launched her “Brooke Burke Body” fitness app for women, which offers workout classes and challenges, retreats, recipes, and more.
The author and philanthropist strives to encourage the fitness community to become familiar with their bodies and, if the traditional lifestyle change isn’t working, to seek medical advice as something “might be off.”
“If any of us think that we’re going to go take a prescription and it’s going to solve all of our problems and we’re gonna be able to stay on that, we’re in big trouble. The most important thing is to know that you have to be a detective of your own body, and what works for my body doesn’t work for your body and doesn’t for someone else’s body,” she added.
Renowned fitness expert Jillian Michaels has voiced similar sentiments in the past, warning Ozempic users of the adverse side effects and potential long-term consequences.
Instead, Michaels recommends remaining active throughout the day and sticking to a well-balanced diet. She turns to a “common sense” approach, such as omitting sugar-filled beverages or fried foods, for sustainable long-term results.
Elma Aksalic is a freelance entertainment reporter for The Epoch Times and an experienced TV news anchor and journalist covering original content for Newsmax magazine.
