Guardian asks eating disorder experts how to talk about bodies in the Ozempic era

A Guardian advice feature published on August 25, 2026 asked eating disorder specialists how people should talk about other people's bodies now that Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs have made visible weight change widespread. The reported consensus: skip the commentary altogether, including the flattering kind ^[1].

Dr. Tom Hildebrandt, who directs the Center for Eating and Weight Disorders at Mount Sinai hospital in New York, described the current period as "a whiplash moment we're stuck in" ^[1]. He said the 2010s body positivity movement advanced mainstream acceptance of "all body sizes, shapes and types," and that the arrival of GLP-1s sent that progress on "a hard right turn" as "the media went through its idealization of weight loss" ^[1]. Dr. Ulrike Schmidt, a professor of eating disorders at King's College London, said the surrounding language now centers on "optimizing" a person's body and appearance ^[1].

Jessica Scheer, chief executive of the National Eating Disorders Association, tied the difficulty to social platforms, saying they have made remarks about how others look "more visible and widespread," and that "most of the commentary is speculative, and almost all of it is harmful" ^[1].

Schmidt pointed to a 2023 report from the Butterfly Foundation. The Australian eating disorder charity found that 57% of young people were unhappy with how they look, and that 49% said this had at times kept them out of school ^[1]. She said even well-meant remarks about weight or shape can backfire, and that in her clinic many patients trace the start of their eating disorder to something said about their body — in some cases a criticism or a warning, in others a compliment. Congratulatory comments, she said, "made them think they are only acceptable, attractive and desirable if they are a certain weight or physique" ^[1].

Hildebrandt said the setting determines the meaning: "It means something different in your physician's office than it does on a social media account for the whole world to see" ^[1]. He compared casual body talk to weather chat — a low-meaning way to fill space — and said his approach is to "be bored by it" and change the subject, which he said typically ends it quickly ^[1].

The feature walks through specific situations. With an acquaintance or colleague, disengaging and redirecting is the suggested move ^[1]. If a young child criticizes their own body, Schmidt suggests asking "What makes you say that?" to find out whether teasing or an adult's remark is behind it ^[1]. With an older relative, Hildebrandt said a comment about someone's weight loss may actually express concern or approval about that person's life overall, and responding to the intent works better than taking the words literally ^[1]. His guidance to his own children: public body talk is often "just trying to get your attention" ^[1].

Online, the experts advised staying out of it. "I see a lot of talk online about the harms of staying silent," Scheer said. "However, making speculative comments about a person's weight or physical appearance is not the antidote to silence" ^[1]. Where the public is guessing about an eating disorder, she said, "critical online discourse may be the digital reinforcement that fuels their continued behavior" ^[1]. Hildebrandt said he has not heard of a case where posting about someone else's body was worthwhile ^[1]. NEDA's own tips include capping screen time and asking who profits from a message ^[1].

When the concern is a friend or close relative, the advice shifts toward a direct conversation. Hildebrandt recommended being "inquisitive, honest and open" and holding back solutions, since "most people don't want solutions — certainly not right off the bat. They want to be heard and understood" ^[1]. Scheer suggested steering toward signs that often accompany an eating disorder, such as social isolation and brain fog, rather than appearance ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

Weight loss from semaglutide is often visible, and it invites comments that arrive whether or not the person wants to discuss their body ^[1]. Schmidt's clinical account suggests the flattering version is not automatically harmless, since congratulations can reinforce the idea that acceptance depends on keeping a certain weight or physique ^[1].

The feature also leaves a practical question open. It notes that context changes everything, but it does not set out how clinicians should raise weight changes with patients on GLP-1s, and no guidance specific to medical settings was reported beyond that general point ^[1]. For family and friends, the signals the piece points to are social isolation and brain fog rather than the number on a scale ^[1].