Oprah Winfrey reflects on turning 70 and reveals she 'doesn't have a fear of death' - with star saying her number one concern is her health... after weight loss drug admission

Oprah Winfrey reflected on turning 70 and how her 'number one concern' is her health in her later years in a candid new interview.

The hosting icon, who reached the milestone in January, said she 'doesn't live with a fear of death' but is focused on a healthy lifestyle - months after revealing her use of weight loss drugs to lose more than 40lbs.

Speaking to People magazine as part of its star-studded 50th anniversary issue, Winfrey said: 'For everybody who's approaching this stage in your life, your number one concern is your health. I don't live with a fear of death, but I live with a conscious acknowledgement that it's possible at any time... 

'I would say that one of the reasons why I can sit in wisdom now, and I literally sit in the wisdom and I make no apologies for it, is because I have paid attention and I am really fully conscious. I've been paying attention for a very long time.

She added that 'gratitude really is my religion' and that her outlook on life has not changed.

Oprah Winfrey reflected on turning 70 and how her 'number one concern' is her health in her later years in a candid new interview (pictured January 2024)

The hosting icon, who reached the milestone in January, said she 'doesn't live with a fear of death' but is focused on a healthy lifestyle - months after revealing her use of weight loss drugs to lose more than 40lbs - Pictured in 1988 (left) and 1992 (right) 

She said: 'When you’re grateful for what you have, you end up seeing you have more than you imagine. Start with your breath, and recognize what an absolute miracle it is that your heart’s still pumping. That is a revelation to me every day. I’m grateful for it all.'

Last month Winfrey opened up about her battle with obesity and how food took over her life during her weight loss special - but viewers flocked online to slam her for 'promoting' the drugs. 

Speaking in An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution the star fought back tears as she revealed how the drugs had meant she was no longer 'constantly thinking about what the next meal is going to be'. 

She said 'for 25 years, making fun of my weight was national sport' and that over the years she had 'lost some weight' and 'put back on some weight' but since starting to take medication she had stopped 'obsessing' about food. 

Along with messages of support online, some viewers slammed Oprah, accusing her of 'promoting big pharma and pushing Ozempic' and criticizing her for taking the drugs after spending nine years promoting Weight Watchers. 

The show was released days after Oprah quit her Weight Watchers board role, citing a potential 'conflict of interest' with the show, which heavily featured weight loss drug brands. 

During the show, Oprah pushed back at people she said wanted to 'shame' her for her weight and for taking the drugs. 

Speaking to People magazine, Winfrey said: 'For everybody who's approaching this stage in your life, your number one concern is your health. I don't live with a fear of death, but I live with a conscious acknowledgement that it's possible at any time... (pictured last month)

She said: 'I come to this conversation in the hope that we can start releasing the stigma and the shame and the judgment... to stop shaming other people for being overweight or how they chose to lose and not lose weight.'

She added: 'All these years, I thought all of the people who never had to diet were just using their willpower and they were for some reason stronger than me.

'But now I realize y'all weren't even thinking about the food. It's not that you had the willpower. You weren't even thinking about it. You weren't obsessing about it.'

Now, she said: 'I use it as a tool, combined with hiking three or five miles a day or running. It's not just one thing, it's multiple things for me.' 

Oprah has visibly lost weight in recent months, having shed more than 40lbs with the help of the weight loss drug.

Rumors that she was taking Ozempic started to circulate last year, until she admitted she had started taking an unnamed weight loss drug in December. 

She said in the special: 'The number one thing I hope people come away with is knowing that [obesity] is a disease, and it's in the brain.'

In December, the TV mogul confessed to using the drug as a 'tool' to stop her yo-yoing weight issues. 

At the time, she told People: 'I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing' - but did not name the drug that she uses.

She said: 'When you’re grateful for what you have, you end up seeing you have more than you imagine. Start with your breath, and recognize what an absolute miracle it is that your heart’s still pumping. That is a revelation to me every day (seen in 1990)

'The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for.

'I'm absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself' and added she had actively recommended the weight loss aid to other people before deciding to take it herself.'

Over the decades of her superstardom, Oprah has been candid with her fans about the various steps she has taken to lose weight.

Last year she was dogged by rumors she was on Ozempic, the diabetes medicine that has become a Hollywood fad among those attempting to slim down.

As the speculation mounted, Oprah finally confessed that she had relented and started taking weight loss medication - after previously feeling that she had to rely on her own 'willpower' to achieve the figure she wanted.

'It is a very personal topic for me,' said Oprah in a press statement quoted by BET:  'and for the hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity.'

When she underwent knee surgery in 2021, her physical rehabilitation helped her develop a number of healthy habits that helped her burn fat.

Oprah weighed 237lbs (107.5kg) at her heaviest, she has previously revealed. 

She said undergoing knee surgery in 2021 kickstarted a journey for her to improve her health and live a 'more vital and vibrant life.' 

The broadcast icon said she now eats her last meal at 4pm, drinks a gallon of water a day and uses Weight Watchers principles of counting points, along with regular hikes.

She added that her fitness and health routine are integral to maintaining her weight loss saying: 'It's everything. I know everybody thought I was on it, but I worked so damn hard. I know that if I'm not also working out and vigilant about all the other things, it doesn't work for me.'

She said: 'I had an awareness of [weight-loss] medications, but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way.'