Singer and former member of Take That Robbie Williams has revealed that his eyesight is deteriorating and he believes that the cause is the weight loss injections that he has been using for several years, reports the Independent, quoted by NOVA.
Williams explains that he can no longer recognize specific faces at his concerts and even the football players at a match are like "spots on a green pitch". He also had to change his glasses because of the changes in his vision.
The singer warned the public to be informed about the potential risks of these injections. He says that he was one of the first to take the drugs, but noticed a negative effect on his vision.
The injections, which include the drug semaglutide (marketed under the trade names Ozempic and Wegovy), are used for weight control and type 2 diabetes. A 2024 study that analyzed 17,000 patients over 6 years found that people who took semaglutide were 7 times more likely to develop a rare but serious eye disease that can lead to loss of vision in one eye. However, the study did not prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship, noting that the number of people affected was small.
Robbie Williams revealed in 2023 that using the injections was a medical necessity related to depression and “type 2 self-loathing“, as he describes his attitude towards his own body. He says that his mental state worsens when he is overweight, and that his inner critic is “catastrophic for his psyche“.