Podcast Summary: "That Can't Be True with Chelsea Clinton" Episode: Eating Disorders in the GLP-1 Era with Johanna Kandel
Date: November 24, 2025
Host: Chelsea Clinton | Guest: Johanna Kandel
Podcast by Lemonada Media & The Clinton Foundation

Episode Overview

In this powerful episode, Chelsea Clinton and eating disorder advocate Johanna Kandel take a candid look at the crisis of eating disorders in the United States—an issue affecting 1 in 9 Americans. The conversation traverses the deeply ingrained stigmas, the public health implications of new weight loss drugs (GLP-1 inhibitors), the impact of societal narratives about weight and health, and the urgent need for informed, compassionate medical and family responses.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Prevalence and Stigma of Eating Disorders

• Shame and Silence Persist: Despite progress in mental health, eating disorders remain stigmatized, underdiscussed, and commonly misunderstood as issues of vanity or choice rather than as severe, sometimes fatal, mental illnesses.

  • "We've come so far with mental health, and yet eating disorders still seems to be that issue that people just don't wanna talk about." (Johanna Kandel, 03:15)

• Alarming Statistics:

  • 29 million Americans will experience an eating disorder in their lifetime (1 in 9).
  • Eating disorders have the second highest lethality rate of all psychiatric disorders—every 52 minutes, someone dies from an eating disorder in the U.S.

• Misconceptions Persist:

  • Many health providers remain uninformed; less than 20% of them are adequately trained to recognize eating disorders:
    • "To this day, I'll be in a room of mental health providers... and they'll actually say, why are you here?" (Kandel, 05:03)

2. Weight, The Obesity Crisis, and the GLP-1 Era

• New Drugs, Old Biases:

  • GLP-1 inhibitors (e.g., Ozempic, Wegovy) are revolutionizing weight loss, but public discourse has become dangerously simplistic and fixated on pounds lost rather than true health.
  • "It's almost like you have no excuses anymore. We're not taking a look at the mental health implications." (Kandel, 08:16)

• Misleading Political Claims:

  • Wildly exaggerated projections about population-level weight loss (e.g., "Americans will lose 135 billion pounds by the midterms") distract from the complexity and risks—including medical side effects and the reinforcement of weight stigma.

3. Medical Weight Bias and the Power of Diet Culture

• Legal & Cultural Factors:

  • It remains legal in most of the U.S. to terminate employment based on body size—a stark indicator of institutionalized bias.
  • "Federally, you absolutely can fire someone based on their weight and shape." (Kandel, 11:27)

• Socialization Starts Early:

  • Even young children absorb harmful messages about food and bodies; Kandel recounts her daughter's experiences with weight-based teasing and "good vs. bad food" narratives in kindergarten. (13:00–13:46)

• Diet Industry Profits:

  • Diet culture, reinforced by billion-dollar industries and now wellness influencers, perpetuates the idea that our bodies are never "good enough." (Kandel, 12:11)

4. Rising Incidence, Social Media, and Kids at Risk

• The Situation is Worsening:

  • Since 2020, hospitalizations for eating disorders among adolescent females have doubled; calls to Kandel's helpline for those under 18 have risen to 38% in 2025.
  • "13% of all calls to our national helpline are for kids under the age of 12." (Kandel, 15:45)

• Concerning Trends:

  • GLP-1 drugs are now being prescribed to teens and even children, spurring concern among advocates about unknown consequences. (Kandel, 16:09)

5. Barriers to Care & the Power of Lived Experience

• Johanna's Journey:

  • Kandel shares her own decade-long struggle, precipitated by ballet culture and compounded by genetic predispositions and lack of accessible care.
  • "I went on a simple diet with the rest of my ballet class... a simple diet turned into a 10 year struggle with an eating disorder." (Kandel, 20:56)

• Isolation and Recovery:

  • "The isolation, the loneliness that eating disorders make you [feel] is one of the barriers to care and recovery." (Kandel, 22:05)

• Gaps in Healthcare:

  • Broad lack of screening and education among providers, especially about who can develop eating disorders (all ages, genders, races, and sizes).
  • Medical weight bias means many people in larger bodies are told to lose weight even when they’re severely malnourished.

6. Wellness Culture and Disordered Eating

• Influencer Impact:

  • Online wellness personalities (the "Maha movement") fuel food fears and rigid "good vs. bad" dichotomies, driving restrictive behaviors and eventual binge cycles.
  • "Whenever you lay the basis of restriction, you're going to have inherently binging, that comes into play." (Kandel, 29:12)

• Food Deserts and Accessibility:

  • Demonizing certain foods/oils ignores food insecurity and drives further disordered eating in marginalized communities.

7. Recognizing and Responding to Warning Signs

• Orthorexia and Social Withdrawal:
  • Hyper-focus on "clean" eating (orthorexia) can be a gateway to severe restriction and unhealthy obsessions.
  • Warning signs: social withdrawal, missed meals, avoidance of eating in public, and increased anxiety around food. (Kandel, 31:06)

8. Advice for Families and Friends

• How and When to Speak Up:

  • Approach with compassion and "I" statements instead of accusations.
  • "Your job is not to cure them or to fix them. Your job is to support them." (Kandel, 34:43)
  • If someone is disengaging from life or their relationship to food and exercise becomes dominant, it’s time to act.

• Recovery is a Journey:

  • "There is life beyond eating disorders... It's not the first thing that you think about every morning. It's not the last thing that you think of every night and every thought in between." (Kandel, 36:00)

Notable Quotes & Moments

“Eating disorders have the second highest lethality rate of all psychiatric disorders. That means every 52 minutes someone will die as a direct result of their eating disorder in their country. We have to talk about it.”
— Johanna Kandel (03:31)

“Federally, you absolutely can fire someone based on their weight and shape. There are some states that have taken on legislation, Michigan, New York... but yet you can still fire someone based on their body size and shape.”
— Johanna Kandel (11:27)

“About 50–70% of the cause of eating disorders are genetics.”
— Johanna Kandel (14:24)

“GLPs are being prescribed to kiddos and teens... as a parent, as an advocate, as a survivor... it scares me to my bones.”
— Johanna Kandel (16:09)

“Eating disorders really happen in all shapes and sizes. You can have someone in a higher weight body that is experiencing what is known as atypical anorexia nervosa...”
— Johanna Kandel (25:57)

“Let's stop commenting about what people are eating. Let's also stop commenting on how people look.”
— Johanna Kandel (31:23)

“I am so sorry this is happening to you, because that means that this is not a disorder of choice. I love you. I care about you. Please let me know how I can support you. I will walk next to you on this journey.”
— Johanna Kandel (34:18)

Timestamped Segment Highlights

| Timestamp | Topic/Quote | |-----------|-------------| | 03:15 | Kandel on stigma and the need for open conversations | | 06:08 | CLinton introduces the surge of GLP-1 inhibitors and population weight loss claims | | 07:52 | "That can't be true" — debunking the 135 billion pounds claim | | 11:16 | Discussion begins on legal aspects of weight discrimination | | 13:00 | Kandel’s daughter's experience with food shaming in school | | 15:45 | 13% of helpline calls now for kids under 12 | | 16:09 | GLP-1 drugs being prescribed to teens and Kandel’s alarm | | 20:00 | Kandel’s personal story of struggle and lack of access to care | | 22:16 | Medical community responsibility: screening and support | | 25:57 | Atypical anorexia and weight bias in clinical settings | | 29:12 | The consequences of restrictive wellness culture and influencer-driven food morality | | 31:06 | Warning signs of a healthy eating journey becoming unhealthy | | 34:18 | How to talk to a loved one: “I am so sorry this is happening to you...” | | 35:11 | Recovery as a winding journey | | 36:50 | Fact or Fiction round—debunking myths about eating disorders |

Fact or Fiction Highlight Segment (36:34–38:16)

• Eating disorders always start with a desire to lose weight: Fiction
• Exercise can become an addiction: Fact
• Once recovered, never at risk again: Fiction
• Eating disorders have the second highest psychiatric mortality rate: Fact

Closing Thoughts

Chelsea Clinton and Johanna Kandel urge listeners to center compassion, challenge diet culture, demand better education for health professionals, and to recognize that eating disorders can affect anyone, at any age, in any body. Their evidence-based discussion cuts through popular myths and wellness fads, offering practical, empathetic guidance for individuals, families, and policymakers navigating these complex realities.

Resources shared:

• National Alliance for Eating Disorders: alliancforeatingdisorders.com

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, reach help at 1-866-662-1235 (National Alliance Helpline, M–F, 9am–7pm ET).