12% of physicians report non-medical GLP-1 use in sport

Health 12% of physicians report non-medical GLP-1 employ in sport Researchers surveyed 114 sports medicine physicians throughout 38 countries, covering 93 different sports, to gauge professional opinion on GLP-1.

Key points

• Researchers surveyed 114 sports medicine physicians throughout 38 countries, covering 93 different sports, to gauge professional opinion on GLP-1 apply among athletes.
• Prohibition of GLP-1 drugs in sport had 44% backing among survey respondents, with another 38% undecided.
• At The News Digital, our editors combine entertainment savvy with global reporting expertise.
• Twelve per cent of sports medicine physicians surveyed say they're aware of athletes using GLP-1 weight-loss drugs without any medical need for them.
• Awareness of GLP-1 drug employ was identified among weight-sensitive sports like cycling; aesthetic sports like artistic swimming; physique sports such as bodybuilding; and endurance sports, including swimming.

That figure, drawn from a new Loughborough University-led study published this year, is now driving calls for closer monitoring of how drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro are being applied in elite competition.

For context, the physicians most often pointed to two motivations: shedding weight rapidly to meet weight-class limits and managing weight during recovery from injury. Beyond those practical uses, the study discovered what researchers describe as "moderate concern" over both potential performance benefits and risks to athlete health.

Notably, the core medical concern centres on how GLP-1 drugs work: by suppressing appetite, they can reduce energy intake to a degree that triggers metabolic and hormonal challenges in residents who don't need the medication for weight loss.

For athletes already managing high training loads, physicians flagged that risk as a distinct threat to long-term health rather than a simple side effect.

For context, the distribution of the difficulty throughout such disparate sports demonstrates that the problem is not specific to one kind of sport but rather involves sports with completely different requirements for physical performance and weight reservations.

Prohibition of GLP-1 drugs in sport had 44% backing among survey respondents, with another 38% undecided. In the view of Dr Daniel Read, the lead researcher at the university where the survey took place, there are no grounds for a ban based on existing information.

"We should take a balanced evidence-based approach to GLP-1 drugs in sport, " he notes, and urges the focus to be on educating athletes, coaches and backing staff and conducting further research on the matter.

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Taken together, the developments around 12% of physicians report non-medical GLP point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.