The fat craze is playing dice with death – why do women commit suicide?

I have long been judged by my appearance. Too fat during pregnancy, too thin afterwards.

Earlier this year, I was routinely shamed in the form of veiled comments on social media.

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Yes, I was way too thin, but that wasn’t intentional.

Not only was I going through an unbearably stressful time – unlike anything I’d ever experienced before – but I had an undiagnosed health condition at the time.

I was eating normally, but my body couldn’t hold the weight and I realized that it would never look attractive for a 57 year old woman to have more skin than flesh, but I felt unwell and quite helpless.

Negative comments sent me into a spiral of negativity, which was not only unhelpful, but incredibly damaging to my self-esteem.

It made me bloody angry.

That’s why I despair at women who choose to deliberately reduce themselves using Ozempic; I want to be thin, even though I want the exact opposite.

It may be seen as a miracle weight loss drug, but every day a new ‘sleb’ comes up with this anti-diabetic injection and claims it has changed their life.

British Vogue editor Chioma Nnadi said last week that there is “a return of very thin models on the catwalk”.

She fears a step backwards has been taken when it comes to body positivity and puts some of the blame on the ‘trend’ for Ozempic and similar drugs Wegovy, Mounjaro and Saxenda.

Fashion houses, she says, are still sending out “sample sizes” in small sizes from 4 to 6 and she warns that the whole fuss about Ozempic should be a “wake-up call”.

If the head of British Vogue sees a dangerous return to skinny, it’s certainly time to take note.

That’s where I thought pursuing skinny was like last week.

I thought the idea was finally dead.

I thought we had moved on. I thought we learned our lesson about constantly pushing women to be skinny or, God forbid, emaciated.

I thought we all understood that body representation was the key to helping women feel better about themselves and that they shouldn’t constantly punish themselves by watching what they eat.

But here comes the new new hell of weekly injections, which can control our appetite so quickly that our bodies become thin or, in some cases, skeletal.

Lest we forget, Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are actually medications designed to control type 2 diabetes.

They are nutrient-stimulated, hormone-based injectables to treat people with a real life-threatening condition.

It so happens that one of the side effects is that they can suppress your appetite and cravings.

As desperate for Ozempic’s next fix as addicts are for heroin

Ulrika Jonsson

Influential people such as Donald Trump’s new boyfriend, tech mogul Elon Musk, actress Amy Schumer and talk show host Oprah Winfrey have alluded to the drug helping them lose weight, with Oprah calling it “a gift”.

But it’s not just celebrities endorsing it.

I have watched with increasing concern as female columnists at a fellow newspaper gave the jab positive publicity while praising the impact it has had on their lives.

Former Tory enthusiast Nadine Dorries has written about its benefits, even going so far as to provide ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures.

The formidable Jenni Murray, who has admittedly always had problems with her weight, claims it has cured all her ailments.

That’s all well and good, except this was just days before the first British death linked to one of the jabs was announced.

Susan McGowan, a 58-year-old nurse from North Lanarkshire, had taken two low-dose tirzepatide injections, known as Mounjaro, before her death.

Her death certificate listed the drug as a contributing factor.

I have listened to story after story on the news of women who have collapsed, suffered seizures and narrowly escaped death thanks to emergency services after receiving weight loss injections.

Even those in favor of the drug will admit that it makes you feel nauseous and make you want to throw up.

Model Lottie Moss was taken to hospital where she was violently ill and suffered a seizure after taking high doses of Ozempic.

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Stephen Fry said he would throw up up to five times a day until he stopped.

Sharon Osbourne – who became famous at the age of 72 for her pursuit of stopping the flow of time – admitted to feeling sick all the time and losing too much weight.

This is clearly visible in recent photos.

Sharon is skin and bones, and with her aesthetically filled lips, she unfortunately looks like a Spitting Image doll.

“Ozempic Face” is a common side effect.

It is when the user has a hollowed appearance and sagging skin due to fat loss.

But on a significantly more serious note, we still don’t know what this drug can do to our bodies in the long term.

Are people really willing to risk their lives to be thin?

With every fiber of my being I am against the idea of ​​anyone injecting themselves to lose weight.

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I am well aware that losing weight as we age is almost impossible, especially for women in the middle of menopause.

But the idea that these drugs are natural because they are hormone-based and that we don’t have to worry about possible long-term side effects, in my opinion, only applies to the birds.

Our endocrine system controls all of our hormones, which in turn power every aspect of our body.

So the idea that changing that could be risk-free is not something that would sit well with every woman whose life is turned upside down by menopause.

And what about the generation of women coming after those of us who were always taught to hate our bodies because our legs weren’t slim enough or our arms were too wobbly?

What about the young girls who watch celebrities lose weight with the prick of a needle?

Do they start to think that they can just eat whatever they want because there is a quick fix if their weight eventually increases?

I worry about them.

Even one of my daughters, who thank goodness hasn’t had any major body issues, asked me if I could get some free samples when I said I was writing about Ozempic.

It may have been a joke, but I also know that there was definitely a desire to follow a trend.

This is all so very dangerous.

Not only can these drugs cost us our health, they aren’t cheap either. Not that the manufacturers care: where there is a hunger for lean meat, there is money to be made.

A private GP friend tells me she is hounded by patients who are as desperate for the next dose of Ozempic as addicts are for heroin, despite already being a reasonable weight.

She turns them down, but of course we know they will find another source.

Because as with everything, if the price is too high, people go underground.

Early grave

They turn to the internet and lie about their weight to gain access to medications, which are unregulated.

God knows what’s in those syringes you get in the mail – and the only way to find out is to prick yourself and lose weight or end up in the emergency room. Or worse, an early grave.

Even the government seems keen to turn a blind eye to potential health risks as it arms itself with syringes in the fight against obesity.

It seems like we’ve wasted the last decade trying to get everyone to accept bigger, wobblier, and rounder figures.

These drugs sell a lie and are a betrayal of all those young women for whom we have worked so hard to pave the way to accept their bodies as they are.

This is a serious step backwards for body positivity and will cause irreparable damage.