CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses disordered eating.
We are officially in the age of Ozempic. More than half a million Australians are now taking weight loss drugs — known as GLP-1s, and sold under brand names like Ozempic and Mounjaro — every single month, according to new research. And while people on your screens, social media feeds and friendship groups are becoming noticeably skinnier, experts are raising the alarm on the very real risks it poses to those with an eating disorder.
The surge in Ozempic usage
A study, from the University of New South Wales, lifts the lid on the scale of GLP-1s in Australia, in particular the off-label usage by those looking to lose weight.
According to the study, usage has increased tenfold since May 2020, with growth primarily driven by private access.
“It brings chills up my spine,” Dr Fiona Willer, President of Dieticians Australia, told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“We know really clearly from reports from clinical dieticians and research evidence how malnutrition-promoting these medications are.”
GLP-1s work by mimicking the natural hormone that helps users feel full and reduce their appetites, with online providers promising “sustainable” weight loss of up to 13 per cent of your body weight.
However, Willer warns that people’s eating habits “may not be supported enough”, leading to well-documented malnutrition on weight loss drugs.
“There is always a tension between health outcomes and weight control because the means people tend to use for weight control are by definition going to challenge health practises,” she said.
“Eating is good for us, and we need to be more conscious when we are putting weight above health.”
The risk for people with eating disorders
The rise of online providers offering GLP-1s means people are able to access these drugs via telehealth appointments, without any face-to-face interaction between patient and doctor.
“It makes it difficult for providers to know if the medication is warranted, particularly if there is no face-to-face contact with the patient,” the Butterfly Foundation’s Melissa Wilton told P.TV, adding that she’s heard of people “inflating” their weight in order to qualify for the drugs.
Kayce Martin, a Māori wahine doctoral researcher on eating disorders at UNSW, warned that the risk for people with eating disorders to misuse the medication is high.
“If this medication had been available when I was deep in my eating disorder, I absolutely would have abused it, and it likely would have caused me serious mental and physical harm,” she told P.TV.
Eating disorders are the deadliest mental illness, and Australia has the highest rates of eating disorders in the world. More than a million Australians live with an ED, and since 2021, the number of people aged 10 to 19 years old who have been diagnosed has risen by 86 per cent.
Despite this, there’s still a false conception that being severely underweight is a requirement for having an eating disorder. Martin says people in larger bodies with EDs are “often referred towards GLP-1s or bariatric surgery without ever being screened for disordered eating”.
“That worries me,” she said. “I also personally know people who have developed restrictive eating disorders after starting GLP-1s, which worries me too.”
She says it’s critically important to connect people with psychological or dietetic support prior to (or as part of) prescribing GLP-1s, and stressed the importance of close monitoring via blood tests and mental health check-ins during treatment.
Martin began using a GLP-1 medication last year for medical reasons, and although she’s found it beneficial, she has to rely on her years of recovery to navigate the medication in a healthy way.
“Even now, I still have to navigate and resist eating disorder related thoughts or urges, such as those telling me to restrict more than I should or to obsessively weigh and measure myself,” she said. “But I say that as someone who has spent many years in recovery from an eating disorder, someone who has been learning, slowly, to accept myself at any size and to see caring for my body as part of a broader sense of wellbeing than as a project to make it more aesthetically acceptable to others.”
She continued: “I also don’t want to demonise or judge anyone who chooses to use them for weight loss. We live in a society that stigmatises and even hates larger bodies and those who inhabit them, so this mass demand is a product of that environment.”
The explosion in the weight loss drug market
Sales of GLP-1s increased tenfold from May 2020 to April 2025, with the market size reaching almost $800 million in 2024 and expected to grow to $3 billion by 2034. The use of these drugs for obesity and weight management is anticipated to have the fastest growth.
Some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, such as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, are funding advertising campaigns for GLP-1s to increase sales. An investigation by ABC in October found that these ads don’t refer to the drug itself, but rather suggest a higher weight is an issue to be fixed through medical treatment.
“It’s clear that some companies are skirting the law,” Wilton said.
“These ads often specifically target people with body insecurities, particularly aimed at women, which can increase body dissatisfaction — a leading risk factor in the development of an eating disorder.”
Last year, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) issued fines totalling $1 million to 19 entities for alleged unlawful advertising of prescription-only medicines.
Advertising prescription-only weight loss is illegal, a fact the TGA reminded Australian brands just last year. However, with more than 3,000 unlawful weight-loss ads removed last year and the telehealth umbrella company Midnight Health fined $200,000 for unlawful advertising this past September, it’s clearly a risk brands are willing to take.
“It is essential that companies promoting weight loss medications don’t just adhere to the advertising standards under the Therapeutic Goods Act, but advertise ethically to ensure they aren’t profiting off people’s insecurities,” Wilton said.
Where do we go from here?
Every expert agrees more guardrails need to be in place to meet the Ozempic moment. Federal oversight, dietitian support and listing GLP-1s on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for weight loss would be a place to start.
Currently, only those who have type 2 diabetes have access to the subsidised drug through PBS, which is one of the reasons nearly half the users in Australia pay between $200 to $600 every month. In addition to reducing cost, listing the drugs for weight loss on the PBS means it would be harder to abuse them, according to Dr Terri-Lynne South, a GP, dietitian, and Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Obesity.
Dr South says the “checks and balances” for receivers adhering to PBS drugs could actually limit the number of users.
She adds it would be harder to abuse PBS-listed medications as they come with restrictions and may mean that not “everyone currently listed” will be eligible.
We also need to continue the work to shift the cultural conversation on weight stigma.
“A greater focus on health-inclusive and weight-neutral approaches to wellbeing, which de-emphasise weight as the primary metric of health, would also be a vital step in shifting the cultural conversation away from unhealthy weight-loss pursuits,” Wilton said.
“When we live in a diet culture society that makes it difficult for people to accept their bodies and develop positive relationships with food, exercise and eating, it’s not surprising that people are feeling pressure to access these medications.
“It’s essential that access to weight loss medications is heavily controlled to avoid misuse.”
Help is available.
If you’re in distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or chat online. If it’s an emergency, please call 000.
Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
If you need support around disordered eating, give Butterfly Foundation a call on 1800 33 4673 or chat online.
The post ‘Chills Up My Spine’: Is Australia’s Unchecked Ozempic Use Fuelling Eating Disorders? appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
