What Should I Tell My Kids About Ozempic? A Parent’s Guide to GLP-1 Conversations

GLP-1 medications — the category that includes Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound — were originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes. They’re now widely marketed for weight loss. And if you’ve noticed the ads, so have your kids. Here’s what WithAll’s Executive Director thinks parents need to know.

As a parent and as someone who thinks a lot about the messages our culture sends to young people about their bodies, I often think about what kids are picking up from the constant stream of GLP-1 ads,  social media posts, and the images from Hollywood and everywhere else.

Because kids are watching. And listening. And internalizing all of it. And all of it contributes to how they see their own body.

First: What Are GLP-1s, Exactly?

GLP-1 medications (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or Zepbound) work by mimicking a hormone in your body that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite. They were first approved to treat type 2 diabetes. At higher doses, some are now also approved for other uses, including “weight management.”

There is no doubt that GLP-1s are important, FDA-approved medications. For many people, they’re very helpful, even lifesaving. That’s important context, and it’s worth saying out loud to your kids.

The problem isn’t the medication. And the problem isn’t the people taking it. The problem is the message being conveyed to young people around the GLP-1s.

I want to be very clear about that, because this topic and conversations around this topic get messy fast. So many adults have thoughtful, medically supported reasons for using a GLP-1.

This post isn’t about them. It’s about marketing, messaging, and the harmful cultural noise our kids are growing up surrounded by.

Why GLP-1 Messaging Matters for Young People

Look at how GLP-1s are marketed and talked about online. The pitch is rarely just “this helps manage a serious health condition.”

The pitch is transformation.

Confidence.

Happiness.

A new you.

Health does get mentioned (not always), but typically as a side note.

This “life transformation” pitch impacts a 10-year-old or a teenager very differently than it does an adult making an informed decision with their doctor.

Most of us adults grew up swimming in similar messages: that being thinner would make us happier, more successful, more deserving of good things. That weight and health are the same thing. If we’re the “right” size, we’re good — and if we’re not, we need fixing.

This was so harmful to all of us.  For too many of us, those of us with certain genetics, it led us to an eating disorder.  Thousands of people die each year as a result of an eating disorder.

For millions more, these unrelenting messages have put us in a constant state of feeling at odds with our body, weight, and food. An internal tug of war. Forever dieting or trying to fix our bodies or our appetite.

This is what we’ve inherited and, if we’re not aware and taking steps to change things, this is what we are passing on to our young people.

And now, with the GLP-1 messaging, there’s more: a shortcut. A pill or a shot as a fast track to the body the world keeps telling them they ought to have.

That’s what worries me. Not the medication itself, but how it’s being marketed to a general audience as a quick cosmetic fix or upgrade.  That worries me, very much, because it tells kids their own bodies may not be acceptable as they are.

What Kids Are Actually Hearing

Even when ads aren’t aimed at children, kids absorb the messages around them.

Here’s what I worry they may be picking up:

1. “Thinner is better: healthier, prettier, and more desirable.”

Before-and-after photos. Glowing testimonials about how life can finally happen. The implication that weight loss is needed to open the door to a better life.

For a young person who is still growing, whose body is supposed to change and get bigger, this sends a loud, scary signal: if my body grows, it might be a problem I need to fix.

2. “Your hunger is the enemy.”

A lot of GLP-1 content frames appetite as something to silence or override.

For a growing kid, the takeaway could be so harmful: I can’t trust my hunger. If I eat when I’m hungry, I’ll get too big. And if I get too big, I’ll need a shot or a pill to fix me.

Hunger isn’t the enemy. Hunger and other body signals are such important information. It’s how our bodies tell us what they need!  Teaching kids to fight that signal sets them up for a painful relationship with their body and food, no matter their size.

3. “Your body is a project. And here’s the quick fix.”

When kids hear, over and over, that bodies can and should be redesigned to match an ideal, and that there’s now a fast, easy way to do it, they internalize the underlying message: My body size or shape is a problem to solve. And there is a way to solve it.

Once a kid starts believing their body is something to be fixed, it’s really hard to undo.

And it’s not true. Real, lasting health isn’t something you unlock by hitting a certain number on the scale. And a child’s worth has nothing to do with their size.

What to Say to Kids

You don’t have to be an expert to push back on these messages.  But it is important you say something because you have an especially powerful voice for young people who are looking to you to decide what matters and what doesn’t.

Here are some scripts to get you started:

1. When an ad comes on TV or pops up on their phone

What to say:

• “Did you notice how that ad makes it sound like being smaller or weighing less will make you happier?  What do you think about that? Do you think that’s true or not true?
• Do you think body size or weight determines how happy someone is?

2. When your child says something negative about their own body size or weight

What to say:

• “Bodies are supposed to change as you grow. Yours is doing exactly what it should. Your body is taking care of you through these changes. It matters that you take care of your body.”
• “What are some things you think feel best for your body? What do you do that you think your body really appreciates?  How about for your mind and your brain? What do you do that you think is good for your mind?  How about your spirit?  What is important for taking care of your spirit?”

3. When they ask about Ozempic or someone they know taking a GLP-1

What to say:

• “Those medications were made to help people with certain health conditions, like diabetes. They can really help those people, and it’s a personal decision between them and their doctor.”
• “I hear some of these ads suggesting everyone should want to be smaller or weigh less.  Or being smaller or weighing less will make a person happier.  Do you think that’s part of the messages, or what do you hear?”

4. When they mention a celebrity or influencer who has lost weight

What to say:

• “There’s a lot of pressure in Hollywood to look a certain way, and the media makes a big deal of people’s appearance and when there are sudden changes in someone’s appearance. Same with social media –many influencers have the same pressure as folks in Hollywood.  And then those images and messages are multiple and widespread. 
• That’s why it can feel like everyone is doing it. But you’re seeing a tiny, polished slice of someone’s life — not the whole picture.  And it isn’t realistic in real life, without all the filters and digital manipulation.  So what we see there doesn’t have much of anything to do with those of us living life.”

5. When they’re comparing themselves to someone else

What to say:

• “Bodies come in all different shapes and sizes — that’s just how humans are. And our bodies are amazing for the countless things they do for us all the time, every day, without being asked. You don’t need to look different to be healthy or beautiful.  You already are.”

Check out What to Say Instead for more language swaps that help kids feel good in their bodies and with food.

The Bottom Line

GLP-1s aren’t the villain. The people taking them aren’t either.

What I want young people—all young people—to know is that their body isn’t a before picture.

Their body is not a design project.

It isn’t something shrunk or fixed.

Their appetite is not something to conquer.

I want young people to know that their body is the only one they get. And it’s already enough. It’s amazing and beautiful.

The ads won’t tell them that. We, the adults they look to for safety and validation, need to.

Want to keep going? Download our free Body Comments Guide with practical scripts for responding to body talk at home, at the table, and everywhere in between.