Rob Lowe turns 60 years old in March. Lowe is an OG Brat Packer and, back then, I never would have thought that he would have the kind of career longevity he’s had. He’s currently on 9-1-1: Lone Star and he’s fashioned a pretty successful and long-running career for himself, mostly on television. Lowe recently chatted with People Mag about his upcoming birthday, his health and wellness in general. I don’t think he’s promoting anything in particular (other than the TV show, I guess), but the conversation ended up going to weight-loss drugs and diabetic drugs. Weirdly, People Mag didn’t note that Lowe is still a spokesperson for the Atkins Diet. Some highlights:
On weight loss drugs: Stressing his commitment to overall health and wellness, the actor shares his concern with people relying on weight loss drugs, referring to medications like Ozempic, an FDA-approved prescription medication for people with type 2 diabetes. It’s one of the brand names for semaglutide — also known as Wegovy — which works in the brain to impact satiety, and is the latest Hollywood weight loss trend. “I see people who are taking all the new weight loss drugs and that’s great, and it’s really changed their lives. But my concern always is, okay, now what?” Lowe tells PEOPLE. “What’s the plan for the longevity of everything? I never ever talk about diets, I talk about lifestyle.”
He has a sweet tooth but he’s trying to be healthier: “I’m trying to be even more disciplined now as I’m older just because as you get older, you need to watch what you eat even more than when you were younger. So I tried to cut sugar completely as my new year’s resolution. And now I’m figuring, okay, that’s not sustainable for me, but how do I really watch my sugar consumption?”
He’s always been into fitness: Lowe notes that he’s never struggled when it comes to having a good grasp on fitness, boasting that he feels “better than I’ve ever felt…I can’t wait to train or to do something physical. I have very good friends and family that have to be dragged into doing something physical… that would be super tough to overcome. I am blessed that I really enjoy physical exertion and adventure. So if I’m not on a set, I build my entire day around what activity I’m going to do. It might be a paddle in the ocean, a hike, running sprints on the track, pickleball, tennis. I’m pretty much up for anything. It’s a lifestyle,” Lowe tells PEOPLE, noting that his latest health goal is trying to find the balance between “longevity and consistency” and “non-injury and pushing myself as hard as I ever did.”
On one side, I agree with him that there should be conversations about what happens to longterm users of those diabetic/weight-loss drugs. Diabetics using those drugs are pretty much going to be on the drugs for a very long time, but people using them purely for weight loss have experimented with going off the drugs, to some wild-or-expected effects (like gaining weight back and then some). Again, drugs like Ozempic were and are made for diabetics and it’s been a game-changer for the treatment of diabetes, but… yeah, you’ll likely have to take it for years and years.
It does feel like Lowe is being sort of shady about Ozempic users, like he’s edging up to saying “why not just watch your diet and work out.” Lowe has so much privilege and he rarely ever sees it – the privilege of being a white man, the privilege of second, third and fourth chances in his professional life, pretty privilege and the privilege of “good genes.” He doesn’t know what it’s like to have a genetic propensity for weight gain or diabetes and his casual smugness is rubbing me the wrong way.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.