Michael McHale , 2025-04-18 07:30:00
Researchers note many people first hearing of new drugs via social media, increasing the risk of the spread of disinformation
Women have a better awareness and understanding of groundbreaking obesity treatments than men, new research has found.
The advent of new drugs containing GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists (RAs), such as semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) are transforming outcomes for people with obesity around the world.
In recent weeks both Mounjaro and Wegovy have become available in Ireland, but currently they can only be purchased privately via prescription, with a monthly dose costing patients up to €300.
A new study assessed the awareness of adults in the UK to these new medications. It found that four-in-five survey respondents were aware of GLP-1 / GIP RAs, with women significantly more likely than men to report both higher awareness (87 per cent vs. 68 per cent) and excellent understanding (20 per cent vs. eight per cent) of the drugs
More than one-third of participants (35 per cent) reported current use of these obesity drugs, 85 per cent reported prior use, and 11 per cent reported interest in use.
An understanding of possible side effects (81 per cent), effectiveness of the medication (79 per cent), and ability to maintain weight loss results (67 per cent) were important/very important factors in deciding to use GLP-1/GIP RAs. Concerns around safety (67 per cent), possible side effects (65 per cent) and risk of weight gain after discontinuation (65 per cent) were identified as key barriers to commencing GLP-1/GIP RAs.
The study involved 1,297 adults with a median age of 44 and median BMI of 28.4 kg/m2. Almost two thirds (62 per cent) were female, while 17 per cent were non-white. Almost three-in-four (72.6 per cent) said they tried to lose weight in the last 12 months, with one in three reporting more than 10 years of attempted weight loss.
Those currently or previously using GLP-1RAs were more likely to give opinions in favour of their use. They were around seven times more likely than non-users to strongly disagree with the statements of scepticism that ‘risks outweigh the benefits’ and ‘there is not enough evidence to suggest GLP-1RAs are safe’.
The reports authors noted a high awareness overall of these new generation of obesity medications.
“Concerns regarding safety profiles, side-effects and risk of weight re-gain after discontinuation were among the leading perceived barriers to initiating GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists in people not currently using them,” they said.
“The obesity epidemic has been a serious concern for people and health systems worldwide and it’s exciting that we now have access to effective pharmacotherapy that can help people achieve a healthy weight range.
“However, our study found that many people are first learning about these medications from the news and social media. This makes it very important to address any prevailing misconceptions about these medications on social media and in the mainstream news media.
“One important part of the solution is to communicate important research findings to the public in a way that improves health literacy. This approach can help empower individuals and inform evidence-based decision making.”
The research will be presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity, which will take place in Malaga, Spain on May 11-14.