Hundreds of thousands of Dutch use Ozempic to lose weight; Third without prescription
Hundreds of thousands of people in the Netherlands use GLP1 medicines like Ozempic or Mounjaro to lose weight, RTL Nieuws found in a survey of its news panel. Almost a third of this group obtains the medicines without their doctor’s knowledge, buying the injections online or through word of mouth.
RTL surveyed 2,000 people who indicated that they use GLP1 medicines. 1,048 use the meds exclusively for weight loss. According to the researchers, that translates to hundreds of thousands of GLP1 users for weight loss in the Netherlands.
About a third indicated that they did not get the medicines through their doctor, either because they thought the doctor wouldn’t prescribe it or out of embarrassment of needing help to lose weight.
Instead, they got the drugs through websites, Marktplaats, social media, foreign providers, friends, and family members. For example, one woman said, “My husband gets it legally; I steal his leftovers.” Another person saw a number circulating on Facebook with good reviews. Another got it from a friend, who got it via a woman at her gym.
The medicines often cost hundreds of euros per month. Almost one in three said that they have had to adjust their household budgets to cover the amount. “A few hundred euros a month does come at the expense of other things or savings,” one said. Another said, “Buying groceries less often. And cutting on vacation.”
But many users gladly pay the price. “It is very expensive, but I am now back under 100 kilograms, and that is important to me. I wouldn’t have been able to do that without help.” Another said, "Life is great again now that 43 kilos have already come off. It is the difference between sitting in a chair and no longer being able to walk, to participating in life again."
The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate is deeply concerned about these illegal routes. “Products can be fake or contaminated, contain an incorrect dosage of the active ingredient, or contain other substances,” chief inspector Janet Helder told RTL. “People have ended up in the hospital as a result.”
The Dutch College of General Practitioners (NHG) told RTL Nieuws that many house doctors are hesitant to prescribe GLP1s because their long-term consequences are not yet fully known. “We only know that there is weight loss. But whether someone will have fewer heart attacks or strokes in 15 to 20 years - that kind of research simply doesn’t exist yet,” said GP Lisette van de Laar.
Manufacturers Novo Nordisk of Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly of Mounjaro stressed that these medications are intended for use under the medical supervision of a doctor and through a licensed pharmacy.