What is GLP-1 & the weight loss drug Serena Williams admitted using to reduce nearly 31 lbs after pregnancy? All you need to know

Serena Williams recently sent shockwaves around the entire tennis universe with her admission of being on GLP-1 drug Zepbound for physical health issues following a tough second pregnancy last year. The 23-time Major winner has claimed that she lost around 31 lbs after she regularly started taking the type-2 diabetes medicine, which has growing evidence of aiding weight loss.

Williams enjoyed dominance over the rest of the WTA Tour for about two decades, spending 319 weeks as the World No. 1 and raking in an Open-era record overall prize money-winnings of $94.8 million. Although the American's time at the top was influenced a little by her elder daughter Olympia's birth in 2017, she soldiered on until the US Open five years later, where she retired in front of her family and most faithful fans.

Unfortunately, while Serena Williams has since balanced her family life and business ventures well, her personal well-being came into peril after she gave birth to her second daughter, Adira, in August 2023. Following a tough post-partum experience that lasted more than a year, the 43-year-old is now back in good shape and has been honest in attributing Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) for her glow-up.

GLP-1 is a hormone naturally produced by intestinal enteroendocrine cells. It is, more importantly, an incretin -- meaning it can decrease sugar levels in the body by increasing the secretion of insulin.

Speaking to Vogue earlier this week, the $300 million-worth star (via Celebrity Net Worth) has endorsed GLP-1 drug Zepbound as a realistic solution for weight loss. That said, she is also self-aware about the perception of the drug and wants to maintain "transparency".

"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,'" Serena Williams told Vogue this week. "I know for a fact from my experience that it’s simply not true. Sometimes you need help."

"I’ve heard negative comments, along with a tremendous amount of positive comments, about my body my entire life. For lack of a better way to say it, I don’t really care what people are saying about my body anymore. But what is important to me is transparency."

The host of celebrities that have spoken in favor of and invested in Zepbound include Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian, TV legend Opray Winfrey, and R&B artist Kelly Clarkson.