GLP-1 prescribing without approved indication rose 15-fold, Obesity study finds

The wire

1. 01In Cosmos electronic health records covering 92.4 million US adults from 2021 to 2025, 1.2% were prescribed liraglutide, semaglutide or tirzepatide without documented diabetes or qualifying obesity, rising from 0.1% to 1.5%.
2. 02Recipients skewed female (85.5%), White (60.0%), privately insured and less socially vulnerable, with eating disorders six times more common than in comparators, a screening flag for prescribers and telehealth operators.
3. 03The retrospective design relies on documented indications in the record, so some qualifying diagnoses may be missing; the authors say risk-benefit in these populations remains uncertain.

From the source

Trends in GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Prescribing Without an Apparent FDA-Approved Indication

Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2026 Sep 22 · Orandi BJ, Yan L, Levan ML et al.