Is taking a GLP-1 receptor agonist for weight loss “cheating”? A qualitative study of responses from a US census-matched panel

GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s) have been shown to be effective for weight loss, but some research has suggested that their use may be perceived as “cheating” or “circumventing the effort” typically required for weight loss. This qualitative study examined such beliefs and attitudes. This was a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data. Data were collected from 450 US adults from Prolific benchmarked to US census values for age, sex, and race/ethnicity, yielding a usable sample of 348 responses. Two coders independently coded the data using the general inductive approach. Interrater reliability was computed using Krippendorff’s alpha, and codes with alpha < 0.7000 after four rounds were adjudicated by a third reviewer. Reviewers identified 17 codes with which to categorize the responses. More respondents wrote entries suggesting that GLP-1s are not cheating (43–50%) than they are (9–10%). Another common response focused on GLP-1s as a medical solution (33%). Negative perceptions of GLP-1s use often used a “moral framework” or applied caveats to their use (“acceptable if X has been tried first”). Areas of future research might include studying whether attitudes and beliefs about GLP-1s are associated with factors like profession or experiences of others within a social network.