Docs Slam Charles Barkley's 60-Pound Weight Loss After NBA Legend Credits Diabetes Drug to Melting Fat Away
Pro basketball's onetime "Round Mound of Rebound" Charles Barkley is shedding pounds in a hurry ahead of his new CNN prime-time gig with Gayle King — but some health experts are crying foul over his choice of diet drugs, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a shockingly candid moment, the NBA legend confessed to an interviewer he's dropped some 60 pounds over the last six months by taking once-weekly injections of the diabetes drug Mounjaro.
The med peels away pounds by reducing appetite and slowing down digestion, making users feel fuller longer.
"It's been amazing," marveled 6-foot-6 Barkley, who claimed he's down to 290 pounds after crushing the scales at a whopping 352. "I've been starting to feel like a human being — not a fat a-- anymore," he joked.
Barkley said his doctor scared him into doing something about his blubber by telling him, "There are a lot of fat, young people. There aren't a lot of fat, old people. They're all dead."
The rotund Hall of Famer blames some of his weight gain on recent hip surgery slowing him down, but said he's now back on track, working out, "eating a little bit better," and getting his weekly shot in a bid to hit a target of 270 pounds.
"Man, I want to be here — I don't want to leave all my money to my freeloading-ass family!" Barkley teased.
But critics charged 60-year-old King Charles' use of the drug is selfish because it deprives others who need it more. There's a national shortage of diabetes medications vital for people who suffer from the chronic disease.
Untreated diabetes can eventually cause a variety of devastating health woes, most notably heart disease, blindness, amputation, kidney failure, and death.
One endocrinologist says doctors are "banging their heads against the wall" in trying to scrounge enough diabetes meds for desperate patients.
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"It's disgusting," fumed a Tinseltown source. "Diabetics are in panic right now and solely because Hollywood's elite can splurge $1,000 a month on these increasingly hard-to-come-by medications.
"They should just get to the gym to exercise and stop stuffing their faces with gut-busting gourmet food instead of taking the short, easy route!"
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