University of Cincinnati

11/20/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/20/2025 10:21

Doctors worried about prescribing GLP-1s to certain patients

Doctors worried about prescribing GLP-1s to certain patients

UC expert featured in National Geographic article

By Tim Tedeschi Email TimEmail Tim
2 minute read November 20, 2025 Share on facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit Print StoryLike

The University of Cincinnati's Susan McElroy was featured in a National Geographic article discussing concerns about prescribing GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic to patients with a history of disordered eating.

McElroy said there are currently no clinical studies that have examined the effect of GLP-1s on symptoms of anorexia or atypical anorexia, largely because it is thought that obesity and eating disorders do not overlap in individual patients.

"We don't have any data on these drugs and people with eating disorders," said McElroy, professor in UC's College of Medicine and chief research officer and director of psychopharmacology research at UC Health's Lindner Center of HOPE. "We feel that they overlap much more than people realize."

"People with anorexia misuse drugs with weight loss properties," McElroy said of her experiences treating patients. "I won't give you a GLP-1 if I discover that you had a period of anorexia, or even atypical anorexia."

Read the National Geographic article.

Featured photo at top of a semaglutide injection pen. Photo/aprott/iStock.

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  • Academic Health Center
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  • Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience
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