'I loved Serena Williams' weight loss injection transparency. Then I read three little words.'

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I first saw the headline last week during my usual late-night social media scroll.

Serena Williams Opens Up About Being on a GLP-1

As one of the many people around the world prescribed a GLP-1 weight loss injection as a part of a weight management treatment plan (I guess this is me… opening up?), my immediate reaction was a proverbial fist pump.

Yes, yes, yes. I love this. I love this new wave of celebrity transparency. I love 23-time Grand Slam tennis champion Serena Williams. 

Watch: Mamamia's health podcast, Well, discusses why weight loss medications aren't one-size-fits-all. Post continues.

More than that, I loved the words she used to communicate my daily dichotomy; pushing myself to honour and appreciate my body as it is, knowing in my heart that I don't look after it in a way that's healthy.

"I feel like a lot of people have this stigma on GLP-1s and say things like, 'Oh, lazy people do it,' or 'if you're working hard enough, you don't need that'. I know for a fact from my experience that it's simply not true," the 43-year-old told Vogue.

"Sometimes you need help. It's okay to make that choice to do it if you want to. But what is important to me is transparency."

It wasn't until I got to the end of the Instagram caption that I read three little words: In partnership with.

A quick Google search told me Williams is now the face of an advertising campaign from US-based tech company Ro, a telehealth provider – in which Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, is an investor – that facilitates treatment options for conditions including hair loss, infertility, erectile dysfunction, perioral dermatitis and obesity.

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A 30-second video advertisement, glossy campaign images and an accompanying PEOPLE Magazine exclusive interview reaffirmed what I already know to be true; that GLP-1s aren't a fad diet, they're medicines.

'It's not a shortcut. It's healthcare," she says under impeccable studio lighting, manicured fingers pinching the skin of her stomach, medication in hand.

Williams is following a path many (male and female, but mostly female) celebrities have travelled before her. Oprah Winfrey. Mel B. Jennifer Hudson. Rebel Wilson. Samantha Armytage. The late Kirstie Alley.

If noughties diet culture helped raise you like it did me, you'll recognise the script of a tried and tested advertising formula:

Celebrity reveals they've lost a specific number of kgs, after struggling with their weight due to X, Y and Z. Celebrity then found [insert weight loss company] and discovered their [insert program or product]. They couldn't believe how easy and fun it was.

If I close my eyes, I can still see a 2000s Oprah Winfrey dancing to a boppy tune, smiling and inviting me to come join her! I can hear her voice – upbeat yet stern, like your well-meaning family member – asking, 'if not now, then when?'

Ah, the memories! Images: YouTube.

Like many women, I've asked myself a version of the same thing almost every day since I was as young as 10. I'm now 33, and in consultation with my health professionals, for complex reasons highly individual to my own circumstances, weight loss injections and bariatric surgery have formed part of my obesity treatment plan – a medical journey that doesn't start and end with your stomach.

I don't feel outraged or betrayed by Serena Williams for making money doing something she was likely going to do anyway. That's the world we live in. In my own line of work, I have previously taken on paid partnerships to talk about products I use every day, and would continue to use and talk about regardless. 

But here's what doesn't sit right in my gut: weight loss injections have officially entered their celebrity endorsement era.

I am all for people with public profiles transparently sharing their use of GLP-1s in general terms, in an interview or on social media. In my opinion, more openness in this area can only remove the stigma many of us feel around taking 'the easy way out'.

A celebrity 'endorsing' a specific GLP-1 company or brand name, and speaking to specific results in a non-organic way is not only irresponsible (although not illegal in the US, where medical advertising laws differ from ours in Australia), but it's loaded because of the context we've lived through from times when we 'didn't know better'.

To the average person who isn't intimately acquainted with what weight loss injections are and how they operate as a medical intervention, seeing this Serena Williams weight loss ad puts GLP-1s in the same fad diet bucket as programs that have you counting points, replacing meals with shakes and eating like a caveman.

Listen: A Bariatrician discusses the potential benefits and risks of GLP-1 agonists on Mamamia's health podcast, Well. Post continues below.

We can assume, but we can't know for sure whether Williams' family 'needs' the money from this partnership. I'm not convinced it matters. It's clear, though, that Williams isn't ashamed to say weight loss injections are a part of her weight management program.

Neither am I, but many are, and from experience, it feels a lot like the deep-rooted shame that, along with very real health implications, drives us to seek medical assistance to help manage our weight in the first place.

Without the TV ad and the jingle, I believe Serena Williams talking about this topic would have been net-positive in reducing the stigma around obesity treatment. Unlike celebrity-endorsed weight loss advertisements of years gone by, Williams never positions this type of medication as an easy solution. 

Similarly to medical interventions prescribed for our hearts, our minds and our hormones, it's healthcare, not a 'quick fix'. Those who take it know this. We've tried all the alleged 'quick fixes' for healthy, sustainable weight loss; we wouldn't be here if such a thing existed.

What matters to me is how this kind of highly-produced, celebrity-endorsed advertising dressed up as transparency would have you believe otherwise.

How do you feel about GLP-1 advertising? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

Feature image: Instagram @theamyclark, Getty.

This article was produced independently and is not affiliated with or sponsored by any provider of GLP‑1 treatments. GLP‑1 medications are prescription‑only treatments in Australia. Always consult a qualified health professional before making decisions about weight management options.