The language of GLP-1 medication in UK Media discourse: a diachronic perspective

• The association between GLP-1 and type-2 diabetes management is in decline in UK news media. • GLP-1 news coverage is associated with a growing linkage with weight loss, lifestyle, body image, and the medicalisation of obesity. • GLP-1 news coverage resonates with discourses of individual responsibility and free will. • GLP-1s are commonly portrayed as a panacea for obesity, omitting references to public health interventions (e.g. promoting healthy diets and active lifestyles). This study examines the linguistic representation of GLP-1 analogues, a class of weight-loss medications originally prescribed for type 2 diabetes, in mainstream UK media texts. Using corpus methods (including frequency, collocation and concordance outputs), alongside discourse analysis, this study tracks and analyses emerging discourses surrounding GLP-1s and their evolution over time. This analysis covers articles published between 2006, when the first GLP-1 medication was approved in the UK, and 2025 (the present day at the time of writing). Findings indicate a declining association between GLP-1s and type 2 diabetes, and a growing linkage with weight loss, lifestyle, body image, and the medicalisation of obesity. These shifts in media representation reflect broader societal and medical changes, including evolving framing of obesity, notions of individual responsibility, and the positioning of GLP-1s within public health discourse. Such representations may influence patient expectations, treatment decisions and social attitudes towards diabetes and obesity. The study raises critical questions about the equity, accessibility and sustainability of GLP-1 treatments. It highlights the danger of portraying GLP-1s as a panacea for obesity, which may privilege the pharmaceutical industry over public health interventions such as promoting healthy diets and active lifestyles and may ultimately impact on public health literacy.