{"id":21173,"date":"2025-07-25T13:15:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T13:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/21173\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T13:15:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T13:15:21","slug":"do-glp-1-patches-work-for-weight-loss-or-curbing-appetite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/21173\/","title":{"rendered":"Do GLP-1 Patches Work for Weight Loss or Curbing Appetite?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Social media influencers are touting a new option for popular weight loss drugs: \u201cGLP-1 patches,\u201d they say, are just as powerful as Ozempic<\/a> for shedding pounds \u2014 without the discomfort of needles or the hassle of getting a prescription.<\/p>\n

One TikTok user summed up the appeal perfectly in a viral video<\/a> with five million views. \u201cMy insurance doesn\u2019t cover Ozempic, so I had to find a more affordable option,\u201d she says. \u201cI was a little hesitant to try these patches at first because I didn\u2019t think that they would work. But I tell you, I have not craved anything, and it\u2019s actually been hard for me to eat.”<\/p>\n

A progress video<\/a> from the same user, which has more than three million views, showed her stomach appearing to shrink a bit more each week.<\/p>\n

Sounds too good to be true? It probably is. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn\u2019t approved any weight loss patches that work like the blockbuster injected GLP-1 drugs Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, and Mounjaro, says Jody Dushay, MD<\/a>, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and an endocrinologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome patches claim that they include ingredients that boost\u00a0\u2018natural\u2019 GLP-1<\/a>,\u201d Dr. Dushay says. \u201cThere are no data to support these claims.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Are GLP-1 Patches?GLP-1 patches, mainly sold online, sometimes with catchy names like \u201cOzempatch,\u201d promise to promote weight loss<\/a>, suppress appetite, and boost energy levels. Many retail for $15 to $30 a month, a fraction of the roughly $1,000 monthly you\u2019d pay for an injectable GLP-1 drug without insurance.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/p>\n

Often, they\u2019re advertised as an affordable, needle-free alternative to Ozempic.<\/p>\n

The ingredients vary, but often include:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no data to support the claim that any of these ingredients produce weight loss,\u201d Dushay says.<\/p>\n

Drugs like Ozempic work by mimicking a hormone in the body also called GLP-1 (short for glucagon-like peptide 1), which the body naturally produces to regulate blood sugar, hunger, and metabolism.<\/p>\n

How Are GLP-1 Patches Supposed to Work?<\/p>\n

With some medications, patches are indeed a convenient and effective drug-delivery system. The FDA has approved patches for uses like birth control, smoking cessation, and pain relief.<\/p>\n

The problem, however, is that not all medicines are small enough to pass through the skin and into the bloodstream \u2014 a requirement for patches to work, says Melanie Jay, MD<\/a>, a professor and obesity researcher at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine in New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cGLP-1s cannot cross the skin unaided,\u201d Dr. Jay says. This means that even if patches did contain medicines like Ozempic, they would probably not be able to get into the bloodstream the way injected GLP-1 drugs do, Jay says.<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t any research to suggest that a GLP-1 patch will work in the future, says Adam Gilden, MD<\/a>, an associate professor and the associate director of the weight management clinic at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never seen any published studies testing absorption through a patch, only by injection,\u201d says Dr. Gilden, who also serves as a medical reviewer for Everyday Health.<\/p>\n

Can GLP-1 Patches Help With Weight Loss or Appetite Suppression?<\/p>\n

With the exception of berberine, there\u2019s no evidence that any of the ingredients commonly included in the GLP-1 patches sold online can aid weight loss, Jay says.<\/p>\n

One meta-analysis of 12 studies on berberine for weight loss found this plant compound helped people shed an average of about 4.5 pounds \u2014 not enough to be clinically meaningful for improving health, says Gilden.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/p>\n

Jay agrees, calling this \u201ca modest amount\u201d of weight loss. And the review doesn\u2019t show that berberine can be applied on a patch and absorbed through the bloodstream, Jay adds.<\/p>\n

Should You Try GLP-1 Patches?<\/p>\n

Given the lack of clear benefits, there\u2019s no good reason to try a GLP-1 patch, Jay says. Since they aren\u2019t FDA-approved, you really have no idea what ingredients are in there or what the risks might be, Jay adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven FDA-approved patches that effectively deliver medication \u2014 unlike the GLP-1 patches \u2014 can cause skin irritation both from the medications and also from the patches themselves,\u201d Jay says.<\/p>\n

This leaves no upside to trying GLP-1 patches, Dushay says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would not recommend these patches to any of my patients,\u201d she says. \u201cAnyone who needs a GLP-1 medication for treatment of diabetes or weight management should not use a patch in place of the real prescription medication.\u201d<\/p>\n