(Bloomberg) -- Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co. have a powerful new ally as they conquer the $80 billion obesity shot market: Oprah Winfrey.

“In my lifetime I never dreamed we’d be talking about medicines for people like me,” Winfrey said during an hour-long Monday prime-time special on ABC. 

The show featured the former WeightWatchers spokeswoman hawking a different answer to weight loss than she had in years past: Drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound, whose popularity has left both Novo and Lilly racing to keep up with demand.

Despite praising life on the shots during the TV special, Winfrey didn’t disclose the exact name of any drug she has taken — a reveal that would likely be a major commercial boon to the medication’s maker.  

But she did make clear her distaste for WeightWatchers, now known as WW International Inc.

In a somewhat tense exchange, Winfrey walked over to WW CEO Sima Sistani, who was sitting in the audience, and reflected on her decades of yo-yo dieting in the public eye. 

Standing over Sistani, who remained seated, Winfrey asked: “Why do we need WeightWatchers if we have Zepbound and Wegovy?”

Sistani addressed what has become an existential question for the entire weight loss industry. “WeightWatchers is not just about weight loss, it’s about community, it’s about education, it’s about care, that’s our new philosophy,” she said.

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Winfrey isn’t the first celebrity to hype the drugs, but her word stands to go a long way with dieters who have long followed the former talk show host’s public battle with weight. 

In December, Winfrey disclosed that she’d begun taking the medications, known as GLP-1s. In February, she stepped down from the board of WW, citing a conflict of interest with her TV special. Shares in Weight Watchers then plunged.

WW has struggled to stay relevant, even as it has acquired a telemedicine startup to sell obesity drugs and abandoned its full-throated embrace of lifestyle changes as a means to losing weight. As the shots overshadow old-fashioned diet and exercise, not everyone is convinced the company’s services are needed.

During the TV special, Winfrey alternated between mentions of Novo’s Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound drugs. Executives from the rival firms appeared together for the “first time in 100 years,” Winfrey joked, with both speaking about the importance of expanding access to the medications — still not widely covered by US insurers.

Novo wasn’t involved financially and didn’t get a sneak peek of the final show, a spokeswoman said. The company was “invited to participate” given its role in researching, developing and manufacturing medicines to treat people living with obesity, according to a statement. A spokeswoman for Lilly confirmed its participation. 

Side Effects 

Winfrey, who repeatedly described obesity as a disease on Monday, spoke with doctors who support the drugs’ use — some of whom have consulted for Novo, according to an open payments database. 

Still, as the drugs’ popularity has surged, so have questions about their potential harms — and whether there are enough doctors offering expertise beyond doling out prescriptions. The ABC special only briefly touched on some unwanted side effects, including nausea and vomiting. Winfrey also heard from Amanda Velazquez, a doctor at Los Angeles’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center who acknowledged that some patients experienced adverse events, but called them mostly “over-hyped.”

Meanwhile, Monday’s special aired at least two WW spots during commercial breaks. Another went to Noom Inc., a telehealth startup that offers weight loss drugs. 

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--With assistance from Naomi Kresge.

(Updates with more details throughout.)

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