Zepbound and Shaquille O’Neal launch national campaign after NBA legend discovers the obstructive sleep apnea he has lived with for years can be treated

Eli Lilly has announced that basketball legend and cultural icon Shaquille O’Neal is opening up about his own experience with moderate obstructive sleep apnea, offering a candid look at his diagnosis and his treatment journey with Zepbound (tirzepatide). For years, O’Neal had written off fatigue, loud snoring, and trouble focusing as simply part of life, only to discover these were in fact symptoms of moderate-to-severe OSA. The condition is serious yet frequently overlooked, affecting roughly 24 million adults across the US, a large share of whom also live with obesity, and the vast majority of cases go undiagnosed and untreated. O’Neal has now teamed up with Lilly to help raise awareness and encourage others experiencing similar symptoms to speak with their doctor.

“For a long time, I was tired during the day, not sleeping well at night, and I just thought that’s how it was for someone my size,” said O’Neal. “When my doctor told me I had moderate obstructive sleep apnea, it clicked, this wasn’t just about snoring, it was a real health condition. Being prescribed Zepbound helped make a difference for me in my OSA treatment journey, I even lost some weight. If sharing my story helps even one person talk to their doctor, that’s a win.”

Daytime fatigue, loud snoring, and difficulty concentrating are common markers of moderate-to-severe OSA, yet around 85% of cases go unrecognised.

In an effort to narrow this awareness gap, Lilly has launched Watch This, a national campaign spanning multiple channels and centred on O’Neal’s personal story. The campaign reaches audiences through broadcast, streaming, digital, and social media, alongside in-person community events and appearances. Speaking candidly, O’Neal walks through the symptoms he ignored for years and explains what ultimately prompted him to act, directing viewers to zepbound.lilly.com where they can learn to identify their own symptoms and explore care and treatment options.

“Millions of people are living with moderate-to-severe OSA and may experience snoring, daytime sleepiness and irritability,” said Lina Polimeni, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Consumer, at Lilly. “Shaquille was one of those people, so he didn’t simply want to be another name on a campaign, he wanted to tell the truth about his own health on his own terms. That kind of honesty can help move other people from thinking they are just tired, experience chronic snoring, and have trouble sleeping, to recognizing they should talk to their doctor.”

For adults with obesity, moderate-to-severe OSA is a condition that can be treated, and Lilly says it remains focused on equipping people with the tools needed to move from noticing symptoms to receiving a diagnosis and ultimately accessing care. Anyone who suspects they may be living with OSA symptoms is encouraged to visit Lilly.com to find out more about at-home testing options or to bring the topic up with their doctor when discussing treatment.

Zepbound is approved as a prescription treatment for moderate-to-severe OSA in adults with obesity, meant to be paired with a reduced-calorie diet and greater physical activity. Clinical research combining the medicine with diet and exercise showed a marked reduction in breathing interruptions during sleep, and after a year of treatment, some participants experienced no OSA symptoms at all.

In one 52 week study, participants taking Zepbound at 10 mg or 15 mg saw their breathing disruptions during sleep fall from an average starting point of 52.9 per hour to 27.6, compared with a shift from 50.1 to 44.8 events per hour among those on placebo. A separate 52 week study involving adults already using positive airway pressure therapy found that those also taking Zepbound moved from an average of 46.1 disruptions per hour to 16.8, against a change from 53.1 to 47.6 with placebo.

Within the first study, 42.2% of those taking Zepbound reached an AHI below 5, or between 5 and 14 alongside an Epworth Sleepiness Scale score of 10 or below, compared with just 15.9% of those on placebo. In the positive airway pressure therapy study, half of those on Zepbound reached this same threshold, compared to 14.3% on placebo.

After one year, 42.2% of those taking Zepbound reached remission or mild OSA with no remaining symptoms, against 15.9% on placebo. Among those also using CPAP therapy, that figure rose to 50.2% on Zepbound compared with 14.3% on placebo. Starting averages for breathing pauses across these studies ranged from 46.1 to 53.1 per hour.

“At Lilly, our commitment to transforming cardiometabolic health is grounded in both scientific innovation and patient access,” said Ilya Yuffa, Executive Vice President and President of Lilly USA and Global Customer Capabilities. “Zepbound is the first and only prescription medicine approved for moderate-to-severe OSA in adults with obesity along with diet and exercise. Shaquille’s story is a powerful reminder of how many people are living with this condition without knowing it and our goal is to make sure they have a clear path from awareness to diagnosis to care.”

---

---

Related Topics and Keywords

Eli Lilly, elli lilly, Zepbound® (tirzepatide)