There is a condition known as “Ozempic ass”, a Manhattan plastic surgeon tells Kathryn Thomas at the end of The Skinny Jab Revolution (RTÉ One, Monday). “A drooping of the butt, a pancake butt,” he says – a description that functions as a powerful appetite suppressor in itself.
Thomas is in New York as part of her investigation into the “miracle” drug, can cause stark weight loss by reducing food cravings and altering its users’ metabolism.
Thomas is best known as the host of the fitness-makeover series Operation Transformation, which was cancelled in early 2024 amid claims that it contributed to a fat-shaming culture. That fact is not mentioned in The Skinny Jab Revolution – perhaps a notable omission given that the documentary is framed as a personal journey for Thomas.
Just how personal is underscored as she recalls being mocked about her size in school. “When I was a kid I was quite overweight. I would have felt the stigma of weight. I would have been called names ... ‘Kathryn is the fattest girl in the class.’ I will never forget it.”
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Trauma is followed by tears later in the broadcast when she breaks down while talking about her children. “For whatever reason, I keep going back to my kids. You want a world where they don’t think about what they look like.”
It’s an entirely legitimate viewpoint, but you wonder how Thomas would respond to the argument that shows such as Operation Transformation have fuelled these very prejudices. Perhaps she feels otherwise. Either way, it would have been instructive to hear her thoughts.
[ Ozempic has big potential, but caution is necessaryOpens in new window ]
Thomas also meets Ashley O’Driscoll, who used Ozempic to shed pregnancy weight and worries that, without the drug, she will not be able stay trim. She’s had to give up Ozempic for financial reasons after losing her job – and is upset to discover that she has gained several kilos over a month. “This is all about me maintaining my healthy weight. Not letting obesity come back into my life,” she says.
These miracle drugs represent a new frontier – Ozempic is also used to treat type 2 diabetes – but also a Wild West, as Thomas discovers when she uses fake details to buy Ozempic on the internet. “I could be a 15-year-old girl with an eating disorder and my mother’s credit card getting these medications,” she says.
The ambivalence that many people feel towards Ozempic is summarised by the podcaster Louise McSharry. “I was disappointed that already thin women were using [Ozempic and similar products] to become even more thin,” she says. “[But] I would be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it for myself. I would never deny, if I would wake up thin tomorrow, my life would be easier in so many ways.”
Thomas is passionate about the subject, and the picture she paints of powerful drugs within easy reach of vulnerable teens is unsettling. Then there is the moral quandary. Society had just about reached a point where being overweight was regarded not as a moral failing but as a health issue. Then along came the skinny jab, meaning weight loss could seemingly be achieved without any need for hard work.
“I’ve always been an advocate of healthy eating and exercise. But does the arrival of these weight-loss medications mean it is all for nothing?” Thomas wonders.
There is no easy answer, but this well-made documentary is to be praised for intelligently and earnestly asking the question. If only it were less coy about Operation Transformation. In a film about size, it’s quite an elephant to have in the room.
