As a woman, I know one thing for sure: beauty standards have never stood still. From the days when my makeup routine consisted of just an eye pencil, powder, and lip gloss to where we are now, I’ve watched beauty trends evolve under the influence of fashion, culture, celebrities, and social media.
Today, another influence has made the list: GLP-1 medication. According to Stanford Medicine, GLP-1 medication was originally developed for the treatment of individuals with type 2 diabetes and those suffering from obesity to help manage their illness. In 2025, the World Health Organization rolled out a global guideline on its use to treat illnesses such as obesity. However, this medication has attracted new discussions in our community about maintaining weight loss and beauty standards more than diabetes.
Public conversations by well-known figures like Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Charles Barkley, and Tracy Morgan, who have openly discussed their experiences with the medications, have also amplified its use. Their stories have increased public awareness of GLP-1 medications and contributed to growing interest in their cosmetic potential.
Reports show that white people are 4 times more likely than Black people to get a prescription for GLP-1. Factors such as differences in access to healthcare, insurance coverage, and long-standing racial inequities in medical care contribute to this disparity.
As more white users gain attention on social media by sharing dramatic weight-loss transformations and toned physiques, the conversation around these drugs has shifted. In the comment sections of before-and-after photos posted by celebrities, influencers, and everyday users alike, the focus has moved away from their original medical purpose and toward their cosmetic appeal.
As a result, the percentage of Black people using this medication mainly for beauty purposes has increased from 2.9% to 10.4%. For context, Blacks experience disproportionately high rates of both obesity (49.9% compared with 41.4% of white adults) and type 2 diabetes (13% Black adults compared with about 8% of white adults), which are the two primary conditions GLP-1 medications are designed to treat.
But this raises an important question: How are GLP-1 medications influencing ideas of Black beauty, and what does that mean for mental health?
The answer is not simple. While GLP-1 medication is changing the conversation about body size, many people aren’t pausing long enough to ask deeper questions. When using this medication for mainly cosmetic reasons, how many consider what their decision says about their self-worth, identity, and the emotional toll of comparing themselves with a beauty ideal that has no roots in the Black community?
Black Beauty Has Always Been More Than Body Size
According toHarvard Health, GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonists are medications that mimic naturally occurring hormones, helping patients with diabetes and obesity regulate their blood sugar, slow stomach emptying, and increase the feeling of fullness.
Although designed for people with chronic weight, many Black people’s attention is only focused on the banging body they can achieve with it, forgetting that historically, Black beauty embraces diversity in many ways that today’s mainstream beauty can’t. Our community has often celebrated:
- Rich skin tones
- Curvier body shapes
- Natural hair and textured hairstyles
- Fuller hips and thighs
- Individual expression and confidence
Although our beauty standard is not universal, it has served as an alternative to the Western beauty standard, in which thinness is a major focus. Today, social media has made it possible for the Black community to be exposed to beauty ideas from around the world. The effect of this is a blend of beauty standards that has left many Black people feeling caught between different expectations.
Many Blacks, most especially women, are now pressured to maintain a curve while at the same time striving for a much slimmer frame or smaller waist. These expectations may not naturally coexist for everybody.
The Mental Health Cost of Constant Comparison
Comparison tends to blossom among women and has become almost unavoidable in this digital world.
We have gone beyond comparing ourselves with friends, siblings, and neighbors; we have added carefully curated images of celebrities, strangers, and influencers from different cultures, ethnicities, and demographics around the world.
For many Black people, this comparison has complicated a life that is supposed to be simple. Teenagers, young ladies, and mature women are asking questions like:
- Should I look slimmer?
- Are curves still considered attractive?
- Do I need to change to fit today’s beauty trends?
- Why don’t I look like the people getting the most attention online?
As harmless as these questions may sound, we have seen them result in:
- Lower self-esteem
- Increased body dissatisfaction
- Anxiety about appearance
- Feelings of inadequacy
- Social withdrawal
- Depression in some individuals
Multiple research studies, including one from The Jed Foundation, the American Psychological Association, and ResearchGate, show that frequent appearance-based comparison, particularly with social media in the mix, has resulted in poor body image and reduced psychological well-being among many Blacks.
Protecting Mental Health in the Age of GLP-1s
Health and body beauty are not the same. It is okay to pursue GLP-1 treatment because of obesity, diabetes, or other medical conditions; However, for beauty standards, it’s a NO-NO. Am I saying you shouldn’t pursue weight loss? That’s another “NO”, but do it while prioritizing your health through:
- Balanced nutrition
- Physical activity
- Preventive care
- Regular medical guidance
When you equate thinness with health, it oversimplifies a complex picture. Therefore, there is always a need to protect your mental health in this age of GLP-1s by doing these 6 things:
- Curate your social media feed
- Remember that online images are selective
- Focus on personal health goals
- Celebrate cultural diversity
- Embrace beauty without comparison
- Cultivate a healthy online social image
- Seek support when needed
Elevate Black Health calls on the Black community, especially Black women, to remember that society’s beauty standards do not always reflect the diversity of our bodies, cultures, or the many ways confidence can look. When Black women stop comparing themselves to beauty ideals shaped by others, particularly Eurocentric standards, they create space to celebrate their own unique beauty. That kind of self-acceptance builds lasting self-esteem, supports better mental health, and is more powerful than any beauty trend.
For further reading, visit these sites:
- Stanford Medicine. GLP-1s 101: What the science says about weight loss, side effects, safety. https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2026/06/glp1s-101-weight-loss-wegovy-ozempic-zepbound-side-effects-safe-use.html
- The World Health Organization. WHO Issues Global Guideline on the Use of GLP-1 Medicines in Treating Obesity. https://www.who.int/news/item/01-12-2025-who-issues-global-guideline-on-the-use-of-glp-1-medicines-in-treating-obesity
- Indiana University School of Medicine. On the Increase in Use of GLP-1s. https://medicine.iu.edu/blogs/bioethics/on-the-increase-in-use-of-glp-1s
- Elevate Black Health. How Social Media Shapes Black Girls. https://www.elevateblackhealth.com/how-social-media-shapes-black-girls/
- JAMA Health Forum. Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Inequities in Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist Use Among Patients With Diabetes in the US. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/mid/NIHMS1805081/
- Centers for Disease Control. Adult Obesity Facts. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult-obesity-facts/index.html
- Black Health. Black Diabetes Prevalence in New Jersey. https://www.blackhealth.org/health/new-jersey/diabetes-prevalence/
- The Guardian. Is the growing use of GLP-1s reshaping ideas of Black beauty? https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/jun/10/weight-loss-drugs-glp-1s-black-beauty
- Harvard Health Publishing. Harvard Medical School. How does Ozempic work? Understanding GLP-1s for diabetes, weight loss, and beyond. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthy-aging-and-longevity/how-does-ozempic-work-understanding-glp-1s-for-diabetes-weight-loss-and-beyond
- Elevate Black Health. Natural Hair Care: Say No to Toxic Chemicals. https://www.elevateblackhealth.com/natural-hair-care-say-no-to-toxic-chemicals/
- The Jed Foundation. Understanding Social Comparison on Social Media. https://jedfoundation.org/resource/understanding-social-comparison-on-social-media/
- American Psychological Association. Reducing social media use significantly improves body image in teens, young adults. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/02/social-media-body-image
- Research Journal of Psychology. Influence of Social Media on Self-Esteem and Body Image. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/396979925_Influence_of_Social_Media_on_Self-Esteem_and_Body_Image
- Elevate Black Health. Teen Health: Online Influence on Mental Health. https://www.elevateblackhealth.com/teen-health-online-influence-on-mental-health/
- Elevate Black Health. Cultivating a Healthy Online Social Image. https://www.elevateblackhealth.com/cultivating-a-healthy-online-social-image/
