Drugs prescribed for diabetes and chronic obesity such as Ozempic are increasingly sought-after for quick, cosmetic weight loss, a life choice pharmacists warn can lead to serious health risks. 

“We have seen thin people try to come in and get it,” Dr. Carrie Leske, a licensed pharmacist in Minnesota, recently told Just the News. “As pharmacists we are supposed to use our judgment and, if need be, call the physician and try to understand what's going on, because it's supposed to only be used for obese people.”

Such prescription medications, known under such popular brand names as Ozempic and Wegovy, are a class of drugs known as Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (or GLP-1s) that mimic a natural hormone to lower blood sugar and reduce appetite. Two types of GLP-1s – semaglutide and tirzepatide – are found in such medications. 

However, they were not created for weight loss in people already at healthy weights. So taking it off-label brings such serious medical risks as severe dehydration, muscle loss and pancreatitis.

“Some of the people using [these] just look so unhealthy,” Leske, also told Just the News. “They look like chemo patients to me."

Dr. Nairi Kasparian, a clinical pharmacist in Omaha, told Just the News that while GLP-1s can be “very effective,” they are designed for continual, indefinite use as long-term weight management – not necessarily as a temporary weight loss pill.

“They are FDA-approved as chronic weight-management treatments, meaning the goal is generally to continue them as long as they are providing benefit and are tolerated," she said. 

"The biggest issue is when people stop taking the drug," said Kasparian, while also pointing out “current obesity-treatment guidance notes that stopping semaglutide or tirzepatide abruptly can result in regaining roughly half to two-thirds of the weight lost within a year" – particularly if the individual has not maintained a strict diet.

Nevertheless, the efficacy of the medications in curbing appetite and delivering speedy results has gained the attention of otherwise healthy individuals seeking short-term, cosmetic weight loss.

“We have seen thin people try to come in and get it,” Leske also told JTN. “As pharmacists we are supposed to use our judgment and, if need be, to call the physician and try to understand what's going on, because it's supposed to only be used for obese people.”

Americans reporting current GLP-1 use has dramatically increased in the past two years – from 3% in 2024 to 11% in 2026. Roughly 15% report having used the drug for weight loss at some point, an increase of 9 percentage points.

GLP-1 use by notable celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Rebel Wilson and Whoopi Goldberg has brought the trend to the forefront of the public’s attention. 

TV personality Sharon Osbourne – who lost 42 pounds in four months while taking Ozempic – spoke publicly about her experience with the drug, saying that it was likely “too much.”

"I can't put on weight now, and I don't know what it's done to my metabolism, but I just can't seem to put any on, because I think I went too far,” she said in an interview. 

Actress and comedian Amy Schumer was also open about her weight loss journey, claiming that although Ozempic and Wegovy caused her severe side effects, she had a “really good experience” with Mounjaro. 

Schumer advocated transparency about non-traditional weight loss on the Watch What Happens Live show: “Everyone has been lying saying, ‘Oh smaller portions.’ Like shut the f--- up. You are on Ozempic or one of those things or you got work done. Just stop. Be real with the people.”

Other celebrities, including actresses Ariana Grande (Wicked) and Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), recently appearing, to some people, unhealthily thinner has also sparked speculation about them privately using – or misusing – GLP-1s.

In one conversation about Ortega’s health on the Actual Friends podcast, fitness expert and media personality Jillian Michaels (The Biggest Loser), condemned drugs such Ozempic as “an eating disorder in a shot.”

Another, more serious potential side effect of taking such drugs, beyond muscle loss, is atrophy, or “muscle wasting.” Individuals taking GLP-1s typically lose 15 to 20 percent of their body weight – 25-to-40% of which includes lean mass.

Social media personality Caroline Calloway went so far as to hide 20-pound ankle weights on each leg under her clothing in order to meet requirements to receive an Ozempic prescription, she recounted last month in Byline magazine.

GLP-1s are typically prescribed for patients who meet specific medical criteria, which can include a BMI of 30 or greater or a BMI of 27 or greater with certain weight-related health conditions. Calloway was reportedly below those thresholds.

“For a few days after I bruise myself with a new injection each week, I’m so nauseous I can barely stumble out of bed. I’ve puked on the floor more than once just from this self-induced, mattress-knuckling queasiness,” Calloway wrote. 

Despite experiencing severe yet common GLP-1 side effects, she concluded that “Ozempic will make you skinny and then being skinny will make the world kinder to you if you’re a woman.” 

GLP-1s’ high demand and growing accessibility with limited guardrails are a cause for concern, Leske told JTN.

“It has become so easy to get now,” she said. “Without insurance or coupons it can be extremely expensive. Some people were even willing to pay the expensive price, which is crazy. But now it's getting easier and easier to get coupons for it. And insurances are covering it more.”

The high price tag also makes GLP-1s an attractive money-making opportunity for companies.

“We dispense these meds non-stop in the pharmacies,” Leske, who works in an outpatient retail setting, told JTN. “And there are other brands now – other businesses want in on the game with these medications. Manufacturers are trying to find other reasons to dispense it.”

In 2024, one GLP-1, Zepbound, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for moderate-to-severe sleep apnea in adults.

According to Morgan Stanley estimates, revenue from GLP-1s reached roughly $80 billion in 2025, and the total market is projected to grow to between $190 billion and $200 billion by the early 2030s.

What people actually pay can vary greatly. The retail price in early 2026 for injectable Ozempic ranged from $199 to $499 a month without insurance. But those who have health insurance can now pay as little as $25 for up to a three-month prescription for the injection pen or the pill, according to the manufacturer Novo Nordisk.

The rise in GLP-1 demand has also led to nontraditional medical providers offering the drugs.

“People are able to get these in other avenues,” Leske said. “Somehow, spas or plastic surgeon offices have been able to get their hands on this in a concentrated form. Then they have to dilute it down, and they can administer it to customers. This is very scary, because there's no quality control. But women are desperate and they're doing it.”