Miracle or misfortune? Analyzing Reddit users’ narratives about Ozempic medication for weight loss

Obesity is a chronic health condition caused by a variety of social and environmental factors. Described as a game changer for overweight individuals, the FDA approved for weight loss the key ingredient in Ozempic, a diabetic medication. It became a topical issue in the media. Grounded in social identity theory, the researchers used inductive thematic analysis to explore two weight-related subreddits with distinctly different goals by examining how members’ social identities and group norms influence Ozempic-use and weight-loss narratives. Findings revealed in-group and out-group dynamics based on group membership, and identity negotiation, particularly in rejecting dominant narratives that higher-weight individuals are lazy or unhealthy. While one subreddit primarily viewed the medication as empowering for achieving weight-loss goals, the other group largely situated the medication within the discourse of external pressure to conform to the public’s idealized body type and challenged the notion that medication is a universal solution for higher-weight individuals. This study illustrates how social identities shape narratives and health-related behaviors, and how platforms, such as Reddit, serve to reinforce or resist dominant narratives regarding weight and medication intervention.