--- title: "Pharmacists Warn That People With Eating Disorders Are Misusing Wegovy Prescriptions" description: "More and more people are taking weight loss injectables like Wegovy — but not everyone prescribed these drugs should have access to them. " date: "2025-02-02" modified: "2025-02-02" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/pharmacists-warn-wegovy-eating-disorders" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "RX and Medicine" tags: - "eating disorders" - "glp-1" - "wegovy" - "Weight Loss" --- # Pharmacists Warn That People With Eating Disorders Are Misusing Wegovy Prescriptions ![More and more people are taking weight loss injectables like Wegovy — but not everyone prescribed these drugs should have access to them. ]() *\Image: Jaap Arriens / NurPhoto via Getty / Futurism\* More and more people [are taking weight loss injectables]() like Wegovy and Mounjaro — and though the drugs are [gaining credibility]() when used properly, pharmacy experts are worried that not everyone prescribed these drugs should have access to them. As [*Women's Health*]() and [other news]() [outlets report](), the United Kingdom's National Pharmacy Association is raising concerns about people with histories of disordered eating being able to [easily purchase weight loss jabs online](). In a letter to the UK's General Pharmaceutical Council, the NPA is urging tougher rules for the online sale of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor/agonist (GLP-1) drugs, the class of fullness-mimicking medications that includes Wegovy and its popular diabetes sister drug Ozempic, among others in an increasingly crowded market. Those rules would include longer consultations that take place between a real doctor and the patient seeking the medication that last at least 20 minutes — as opposed to the current state of online pharmacies dispensing GLP-1s, many of which only require a questionnaire. "We are concerned that the current regulations allow some patients to inappropriately access weight-loss injections without proper consultation or examination of historical medical records," NPA chairman Nick Kaye wrote in the letter. As it stands today, in many places, anyone of age can buy GLP-1 drugs from online pharmacies with little more than a few clicks and a credit card number. Beyond concerns about [sketchy e-retailers]() selling [unregulated compounded versions]() of these drugs, the NPA's letter seems to suggest that people with eating disorders may lie or obfuscate on the questionnaires to get access to the drugs, or overlook their very real gastrointestinal side effects in search of a get-thin-quick jab. "There’s nothing wrong with online services in principle, but it’s important the regulator takes this opportunity to make compulsory a full consultation before dispensing high-risk medication such as weight-loss injections," the NPA explained, "and ensure supply is \[prioritized\] for those in most clinical need, including those with type 2 diabetes." This is, unfortunately, far from the first time that we've heard this kind of warning. Last year, [eating disorder specialists told *CNN*]() that GLP-1s' rising popularity seemed to be linked to a rise in eating disorders. "We noticed clinically that we were getting more and more people into our clinical services that had been started on GLP-1 agonists and had experienced new onset or worsening eating disorder symptoms," Aaron Keshen, the codirector of the Nova Scotia Provincial Eating Disorder Service in Halifax, Canada, told the broadcaster. As one of the coauthors of the very few studies looking into the way [GLP-1s affect disordered eating](), Keshen said in that 2024 interview with *CNN* that "more research needs to be done" to disentangle these intimately related subjects. "Perhaps a degree of moderate weight loss is a healthy outcome for some individuals," the Canadian eating disorder specialist said, "but it’s never going to be a healthy outcome to achieve rapid weight loss due to excessive pathological dietary restriction." **More on GLP-1s:** [*Huge Study Finds Constellation of Health Benefits for Ozempic Beyond Weight Loss*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()