Active Diabetes, Hormones & Metabolism Public Health & Healthcare

Understanding Risks and Discourses Surrounding Weight Loss Injectables Purchased Through Private Online Pharmacies

Funder Wellcome Charity-funded
Recipient organisation Queen Mary University of London
Funding Not disclosed
Period Oct 2025 — Sept 2028

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

More than a million people in the UK are buying weight loss injections from private online pharmacies, often without medical supervision. This matters because GLP-1 receptor agonists—drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro—are powerful medicines with strict prescribing rules. When patients bypass NHS or GP oversight, they miss essential check-ups on diet, exercise, and side effects. Some private online pharmacies also advertise claims that go beyond official guidelines, potentially misleading people who may not even meet the medical criteria for the drugs. Researchers currently have little understanding of how these websites shape patients’ perceptions of risk. The project will analyse online discussion forums, run focus groups, observe people navigating pharmacy websites, and collect digital diaries of how users encounter GLP-1 content. If successful, the findings could inform tighter regulation of private online pharmacy advertising and improve public health messaging around weight loss injections. The work is applied, not fundamental science—it directly targets a gap in consumer protection and clinical safety for a rapidly growing market.

View original technical description
1.4 million people across the UK are taking Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP1-RA) weight loss injections, becoming ‘big business’ due to online social media trends. There are strict guides that clinicians must follow to safely prescribe GLP1-RAs and check-up on patients’ weight loss, exercise, and dieting progress. This means that some people turn to private online pharmacies (POP) to get their hands on this medication. However, taking GLP1-RAs without professional guidance comes with additional health risks, and some POPs advertise claims outside of guidelines to appeal to those who may not meet the criterion. Research is needed to understand the impact that content from private online pharmacies have on patients’ perception of risks associated with GLP1-RAs and understanding of obesity and weight loss. By exploring how people talk about GLP1-RAs, how POPs use online content to communicate to people, and how people use POP websites to access these injections; we can better regulate the risks and rewards attached to GLP1-RAs use for weight loss. Using qualitative methods, the research is divided into 4 stages: analysing online discussion fora, in-person focus group discussions of POP content, think-aloud protocols exploring POP websites, and participants' ‘digital diary’ collection of POPs and GLP1-RA content.

View the original record at the funder ↗

Researchers

Naphat Jittavisutthikul (EPMC Awardee)

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Original classification

PhD Studentship (Basic)

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