The trend: Even amid the surging popularity of weight loss drugs, 60% of respondents to a recent Tebra survey admitted they’re hesitant to ask physicians about GLP-1 medications.

Unpacking the trend: Many of the top reasons why people contemplated bringing up GLP-1s to their doctors, but ultimately chose not to, come down to self-consciousness and assumptions they wouldn’t get a prescription.

• 50% expressed concern that their doctor would just tell them to diet and exercise.
• 37% said they didn’t want to seem lazy.
• 31% feared their doctor would judge them.
• 29% were embarrassed to discuss their weight.
• 38% had some level of doubt that their doctor would write a prescription.

Why it matters: Celebrities and social media influencers helped GLP-1s become mainstream—but there is still stigma and shame associated with the medications.

GLP-1 drugmakers and telehealth players have created ad campaigns to combat this narrative.

• A Lilly TV commercial released last year frames obesity as a serious disease and makes the point that shame has no place in healthcare.
• Queen Latifah has been working with Novo Nordisk to destigmatize obesity and steer people to educational resources such as Novo’s Truth About Weight website.
• Ro unveiled a campaign for its Body Program around the idea that obesity is not a failure of self-control.

Our take: Healthcare and pharma players in the GLP-1 space will want to double down on messaging that obesity is a chronic condition that often requires medication, while integrating testimonials from GLP-1 patients who are proud of their weight loss achievements.

Marketers should also craft content that addresses physicians’ specific biases against weight loss drugs and refutes common misconceptions. This could include providing data showing that patients are staying on their GLP-1 regimens for longer—as opposed to taking the drugs as a quick fix—and clinical evidence on how weight loss drugs can reduce the risk of conditions that doctors take more seriously, such as severe heart disease.

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