{"id":904110,"date":"2026-09-24T19:56:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T19:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/904110\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T19:56:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T19:56:17","slug":"over-1-1m-people-using-glp-1-drugs-without-fda-approved-reason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/904110\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 1.1M people using GLP-1 drugs without FDA-approved reason"},"content":{"rendered":"

(NewsNation<\/a>) \u2014 A new study<\/a> published in Obesity Journal found more than 1.1 million people in the United States have been prescribed GLP-1 drugs<\/a> despite not having an FDA-approved reason. Between 2021 and 2025, the number rose from 0.1% to 1.5%.<\/p>\n

The study looked at data from Cosmos, which is representative of more than 300 million patients across the U.S. as of January 2026.<\/p>\n

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A primary motivator for taking the drugs is weight loss, but about 35% of people taking a GLP-1 without a medical reason had a normal BMI, and eating disorders were more common in this cohort.<\/p>\n

What are FDA-approved reasons to take GLP-1 drugs?<\/p>\n

GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic, have been approved to treat and manage Type 2 diabetes and obesity.<\/p>\n

The drug has also been approved to reduce cardiovascular risk for individuals with diabetes and obesity, to treat obstructive sleep apnea.<\/p>\n

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The drug has been approved for renal protection in chronic kidney disease in those with diabetes, and liver disease, according to the study.<\/p>\n

GLP-1 cost-to-benefit ratio: What are potential risks of drugs?<\/p>\n

GLP-1 drugs mimic glucagon like peptide-1, a naturally occurring hormone in the body that tells the brain when we have eaten and helps regulate blood sugar and appetite. The GLP-1 drugs signal to the brain to reduce hunger and make other metabolic changes.<\/p>\n

Benefits of using GLP-1 drugs include a reduced risk of heart disease and kidney disease, lowering blood pressure, improving fatty liver disease and improving lipid disorders.<\/p>\n

The drug can also delay the progression of diabetes related nephropathy, a progressive condition impacting the kidneys, according to the Cleveland Clinic.<\/a> A recent study<\/a> also found that GLP-1 drugs may improve longevity by slowing biological aging.<\/p>\n

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However, GLP-1 drugs also have side effects, such as loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Serious but rare side effects include pancreatitis and medullary thyroid cancer, according to the Cleveland Clinic.<\/a><\/p>\n

There has been a recent rise in civil cases against GLP-1 providers following the development of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION. The condition causes vision loss that can result in blindness, NewsNation previously reported.<\/a><\/p>\n

Researchers say the findings are alarming as very little is known about the risk GLP-1s pose to people who do not have an FDA-approved medical condition. The numbers presented in the study may not be accurate, as they did not include individuals who use telehealth to obtain prescriptions, nor did they include people who use compounded versions<\/a> of the drug.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(NewsNation) \u2014 A new study published in Obesity Journal found more than 1.1 million people in the United…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":904111,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[64,63,109062,28758,51465,258060,30583,137,1727,472143,490,115085,7532],"class_list":["post-904110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cardiovascular-risk","tag-chronic-kidney-disease","tag-eating-disorders","tag-fda-approved","tag-glp-1-drugs","tag-health","tag-liver-disease","tag-medical-reason","tag-medication","tag-newsnation","tag-type-2-diabetes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=904110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/904111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=904110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=904110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=904110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}