"From what I can see, these jabs are functioning as a medically-prescribed eating disorder"

An Eating Disorders Campaigner, and supporter of Dump the Scales raises the alarm about weight loss jabs, the science and side effects behind them and the potential impact on people with eating disorders.

Please note this post includes references to, and links to articles mentioning eating disorder behaviours.

Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy - not a day goes by without weight loss jabs invading our screens on social media or bombarding our inboxes. Now we have our Health Secretary offering widespread endorsement of these drugs - and going one step further by trying to make them even more accessible.

I am watching this as someone in recovery from both anorexia and bulimia, as well as an advocate for evidence-based research and an ally to those living in larger bodies. And it terrifies and saddens me.

But why, you might ask, am I in the seemingly tiny minority of people whose reaction to Ozempic, Mounjaro and co is one of concern rather than jubilation?

Let's start by examining what these jabs do. Designed to manage diabetes, medications like Mounjaro and Ozempic work by regulating blood sugar. It is worth pointing out that when the drugs were first co-opted by the weight-loss field, it was to the detriment of the very people they were designed for. People who relied on these jabs to manage their diabetes faced widespread shortages when the jabs started being used explicitly for weight loss. 

It is shocking that as a nation we are so obsessed with losing weight that we are willing to put the health of people with a serious chronic condition at risk in order to get our hands on them.

The drugs disrupt appetite signals by making people feel fuller sooner and leave food in the stomach for longer. The idea being that people end up eating less and losing weight. Herein lies the twisted appeal of the drugs to medical professionals, government ministers, drug companies and anyone looking for a quick fix to solve the so-called “obesity” crisis. (I have used the word 'obesity' in quotation marks here as many people experience this term as a slur. )

This is happening despite a lack of any proper evaluation of these drugs’ long-term safety and effectiveness. In fact, the evidence that we do have suggests that people regain the weight they have lost within a year of coming off the medication. This will not come as a surprise to anyone who knows a thing or two about how diets (don’t) work. More concerningly, serious adverse effects have been reported - including 10 deaths in the UK being linked to the use of the drugs.

The commonly cited side-effects - cardiac problems, gastrointestinal issues, irregular or absent periods - present a familiar list. They’re all things I experienced (and in some cases still live with) as a result of my eating disorder. And this is what lies at the root of my discomfort.

From what I can see from the many people in my life who are taking them, and my understanding of how these drugs work and are being used, they are functioning as a medically prescribed eating disorder.

I am watching friends and loved ones engage in the same behaviours I worked hard to overcome. I see them unable to partake in the moments of joy with food I discovered through recovery; the impromptu ice cream on holiday, ordering a takeaway after a night spent dancing (and one too many cocktails!), and fully partaking in celebrations and rituals which involve food.

I worry about the addictive quality of weight loss. I worry about the mental health of my friends who come off the drugs and subsequently gain weight. I worry about the long-term risks to their organs.

Increasingly, we’re seeing weight loss jabs being pushed to individuals of all shapes and sizes and becoming more accessible to vulnerable groups. I know several instances of individuals with active eating disorders getting their hands on the jabs; something which is already far too easy to do, and set to become even easier.

I can understand their motivations though.

A few years ago, when I was struggling with a relapse of binging and purging, there’s a good chance I would have turned to these drugs had they been as readily available as they are now. I would have done anything to make the binges stop. I count myself incredibly fortunate that I did not get my hands on them and instead focused on extracting myself from the toxic situations which were exacerbating my eating disorder and sought professional help.

But while access to high-quality eating disorder treatment remains incredibly limited, especially for those experiencing BED or atypical presentations, it is sadly inevitable that people will find solace in these medications.

Weight should be a shame-free topic

None of this is intended to cast blame on anyone who turns to the jabs as a weight loss measure. Particularly people in larger bodies who face untold levels of stigma and outright discrimination for their size. From experiencing derogatory language, to medical shaming and being refused treatment, and even being passed over when it comes to applying for jobs. It is completely understandable why someone would feel compelled to turn to these medications.

Eating disorders can affect anybody

In fact, many of those living in larger bodies experience (often extreme levels of) disordered eating and negative body image. Thoughts and behaviours which would be causes for alarm in the eyes of medical professionals for someone in a thinner body are endorsed for those at higher weights. 

In actuality, the evidence indicating that being a higher weight is detrimental to health is considerably less clear-cut than popular discourse would have us believe, with structural factors like weight stigma likely playing a considerably bigger role in someone’s health outcomes than body mass itself. The rise of drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro only add to the discrimination that people in larger bodies already face. 

The truth is that we can infer very little about a person’s individual health by their size. Focusing on weight is a red herring. Or as researcher Dr. Cheri Levinson puts it “weight is the wrong target mechanism”. If we truly want to improve the nation’s health, we need to focus on underlying factors and societal inequities like poverty and discrimination. We need to improve access for all to evidence-based and compassionate medical treatment, including mental health care.

We should be running a mile from weight loss jabs, not embracing them with open arms. 

This blog is part of our Weight Loss Jabs + Eating Disorders: Harm Waiting to Happen campaign.

Have you been affected by the issues raised in this blog? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.