Medical grossophobia: “I was like in shock” – A patient who struggled with eating disorders was offered Ozempic by her doctor

A young woman who gained weight after recovering from an eating disorder is still outraged at being offered an appetite suppressant to lose weight by her family doctor.

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“I was like in shock. It was impossible, admits Jessica Brodeur. It was afterward that my indignation became stronger.”

Aged 34, the young woman lived part of her life with eating disorders (orthorexia, bulimia, hyperphagia, etc.).

Like vitamin D

“At each medical follow-up, I was congratulated that I was in shape, that I was losing weight and that I was training,” recalls the one who competed in fitness.

Recovered from her eating disorders for two years, M^me Brodeur has gained at least 100 pounds in recent years. In 2022, a visit to her family doctor left a lasting impression on her.

“I explained to him my history of eating disorders and that the weight gain afterwards was difficult to accept. She told me: we can prescribe Ozempic for you, says M^me Embroiderer. For her, it was ordinary, like vitamin D.”

• Listen to the interview with Jessica Brodeur, young woman victim of medical fatphobia, via QUB radio :

Prescribed to obese people for several years, Ozempic helps to lose weight because it suppresses the appetite. However, it also causes all kinds of side effects (diarrhea, fatigue, nausea).

Furthermore, several health specialists emphasize that this is a temporary solution; people gain the weight back when they stop the medication.

After this meeting, the Saint-Hubert resident admits to having had dark thoughts about her diet.

“I’ve never been so healthy now in a much bigger body,” she swears. But I was strong, I was able to stand my ground.”

Not to be weighed

Today, well in her head and in her body, the fitness trainer must insist each time at the doctor not to be weighed or not to want to know the number on the scale.

“The medical world has so much to learn about fatphobia. It’s a social issue that has much more repercussions than we think, she says. It’s as if weight loss is still the rule for ultimate happiness.”