Sanjay Gupta to Tackle Ozempic Craze in CNN Special (Exclusive)

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta will take a deep dive into the world of the weight loss drug Ozempic for a primetime CNN special.

The special, Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Is Ozempic Right For You? will debut Sunday Nov. 17 at 8 PM, and will see Gupta travel the world to speak to those directly involved in the drug’s discovery and creation, as well as people who have used it, with varying experiences.

“As a neurosurgeon, the mind-body connection has always captivated me,” Gupta says. “I spent a year traveling around the world speaking with doctors, scientists and patients about these new drugs, which show promise to be revolutionary for that connection.”

“The patients I spoke with embody such courage, and I came away inspired by their honest outlook on their experiences,” he continued. “We still have a lot to learn about the long-term impacts, and these drugs will not be for everybody. Yet my year-long reporting journey proved to me that this is really just the beginning of this weight loss revolution.”

The interviews will include conversations with Dr. Jens Juul Holst, one of the scientists who identified the key ingredient in Ozempic and who some predict will be a future Nobel Prize winner, and Dr. Dan Skovronsky, chief scientific officer at Eli Lilly.

Ozempic and similar weight loss drugs have taken over Hollywood (“Ozempic Body” is now a problem plastic surgeons are dealing with), and the drug has become something of a pop culture obsession.

South Park parodied the drug in a special titled The End of Obesity, while Oprah Winfrey hosted a primetime special on the drug; and Oprah Winfrey hosted a primetime ABC special that explored the topic… after leaving the board of Weight Watchers after acknowledging she took weight loss drugs herself.