Beyond the prescription: Global observations on the social implications of GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight loss
Sissel Due Jensen, Bruno Gualano, Pernille Andreassen, Fernanda Baeza Scagliusi, Cindi SturtzSreetharan, Alexandra Brewis
Abstract
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are transforming medicine globally. Given the efficacy and the demand for these drugs for weight loss, significant and complex social implications will follow. Drawing on our current qualitative studies with users in Brazil, Denmark, Japan, the United States, and online communities, alongside our pre-GLP-1RA studies in ten additional countries, we identify nine emerging global trends. These include the profound sense of "normality" users describe after weight loss, demand driven by pervasive weight anxiety, and the willingness of many to endure significant side effects, costs, and sacrifices to maintain access. We also observe extensive medication tinkering, unregulated sourcing, changing dynamics in clinical consultations, entwinement with disordered eating, gendered patterns in use and outcomes, and the central role of social media in shaping beliefs and practices. Rather than reducing weight stigma, these drugs may intensify social judgments and inequalities. GLP-1RAs are thus not only biomedical innovations but also social technologies that reshape bodies, identities, and health systems. Anticipating their global impact requires integrating social science with health research and policy.