Weight loss jabs such as Wegovy and Ozempic have been hailed as a breakthrough for obesity and chronic conditions like diabetes. But patients and experts worry the medications could retrigger people with eating disorders, if not given the right support. Zoe Madden-Smith reports.
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Despite having a medical history of mental health and a binge eating disorder, Auckland woman Olivia Jory says she was prescribed weight loss medications Saxenda and later Wegovy, with no guidance on risk factors.
Jory says she was upfront about her pre-existing conditions with a GP in New Zealand but alleges there weren’t any follow up questions about them.
“They didn't mention any side effects to do with the mental health or retriggering of eating disorders,” she says. “I don't think that there's enough safeguards at all.”
Within weeks of using the medication, she says her disordered eating habits were back. She would weigh herself excessively and says some days there was no hunger at all. Sometimes she wouldn't eat all day and then have a cheeseburger at night.
“I did get worried because this is exactly what my eating disorder did. It was restricting all day and then bingeing,” she says.
This comes as weight loss jabs are becoming increasingly popular within New Zealand. Since Wegovy, the newest weight loss jab to arrive in the country, became available in 2025, more than 47,000 New Zealanders have been prescribed it.
How Wegovy works
Wegovy is an injectable medication that contains Semaglutide, the same active ingredient as Ozempic. It works by mimicking a hormone (GLP1) your body naturally releases after eating. It tells your brain it’s full, helps release insulin and slows down how quickly you digest food. You lose weight because you eat less and don’t crave food like normal.
In New Zealand, patients need a BMI of at least 30 to be eligible (classified as “obese”), or 25 if you have a chronic health condition like diabetes.
Clinical psychologist Louise Adams, who specialises in helping people with eating disorders and weight concerns in Sydney, says one of her patients with restrictive anorexia and a BMI of 18 was prescribed a weight loss jab online using a fake photo.
“People have had quite severe reactions, huge relapses into restrictive eating practices, and in some cases, some more disturbing mental health problems as well, including suicidality,” she says.
“What I am seeing is people in the aftermath of this needing quite a lot of help.”
‘Prescribe and forget’
Adams says one of the problems she is seeing among her clients who have been prescribed Wegovy is ‘prescribe and forget’ - where patients are quickly onboarded onto the medication but there are minimal safeguards or education about how to use it safely.
“If we're going to medicalise it [weight loss jabs], medicalise the whole thing. Do really careful screening of who's going to take it, look at people's mental health histories, people's eating disorder risk,” she says.
“We need more informed consent about how this is a long-term medication and then we need aftercare. We need close monitoring from a dietitian because intake is significantly reduced and some people may need psychological support as well.”
Need for better education
Jory says she quickly lost about 10kgs in four months while using weight loss jabs for the first time. But then her weight plateaued so eventually she came off the medication. But over the next year, the weight rebounded.
She says this isn’t surprising because she hadn’t made any changes to her eating habits or lifestyle. The next time Jory used the medication she received guidance from a social worker who specialised in eating disorder management.
The social worker educated her on coping strategies with food and how she needed to prioritise eating protein dense meals and doing strength training while on weight loss jabs to avoid losing muscle mass.
“That was something I was completely unaware of,” Jory says. “No one had told me this before.”
In fact, the doctor who prescribed her the medication had allegedly given her opposite guidance. Jory says at one point she warned the doctor she wasn’t eating all day while on the medication.
“The feedback given was like, ‘Yeah, that's OK because you're not going to starve. The drug is doing what it's intended to’.
“There was no guidance about pulling the dose back or saying I should eat something, even if I am not hungry,” she says.
What should a proper assessment involve?
Rinki Murphy is an endocrinologist and one of New Zealand’s leading obesity experts. She also trains health professionals in obesity and diabetes care, which can include the use of weight‑loss injections like Wegovy.
She says patients are being prescribed these drugs without proper guidance on how to use them. “People are really risking side effects that can be prevented just by having optimum information.”
She says a full assessment for obesity should cover diet and exercise history, mental health, current medications and medical conditions, screening for eating disorders, a patient’s goals, and what they’ve already tried to lose weight.
She recommends the prescriber should also educate the patient on how to eat the right portions of food, prioritising hydration, protein, fibre and non-starchy vegetables and avoiding processed or spicy foods to help with potential constipation.
She says these assessments are often too complex for telehealth and can be better suited to in-person appointments for safe prescribing.
“With some commercial online models, there isn’t always the time spent checking whether this is safe, or how much monitoring and follow‑up is needed, and that’s a real concern,” she says.
She’s calling for stronger safeguards and better training for health workers prescribing weight loss jabs. “This really does need the right checks and balances.”
‘As long as I was willing to pay’
Jory’s social worker warned her about the risk of using weight loss jabs with a history of an eating disorder and advised her not to. But when Jory went to back to the doctor to get re-prescribed, the doctor allegedly prescribed it again without any follow up questions about her eating disorder.
“I don't feel like that was really taken into consideration at all. It felt like as long as I was willing to pay, it was going to be given to me,” she says.
“I would, go as far to say... there isn't any support put in place to ensure that people aren't being retriggered.”
With her social worker’s support, Jory says she used the medication more safely and in a controlled way. She credits her success on the medication to counselling, education and a strong support network, but says she had to find that help herself, without a referral from the doctor.
“[Weight loss jabs] have had some really positive effects, but that wouldn't have been possible without the other work that was done. It's not a quick fix. And if you've got an eating disorder, it's going to be there until you work through it,” she says.
“I just hope moving forward there can be some more education around it.”
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Where to get help
1737: The nationwide, 24/7 mental health support line. Call or text 1737 to speak to a trained counsellor.
Youthline: Free call 0800 376 633, free text 234. Nationwide service focused on supporting young people.
For eating disorder carer support, call Eating Disorder Association New Zealand (EDANZ): 0800 2 EDANZ 09 5222 679
Women’s refuge. Call the free crsisline on 0800 733 843.
Are you Okay. Call their 24/7 helpline on 0800 456 450.
Suicide Crisis Line: Free call 0508 TAUTOKO or 0508 828 865. Nationwide 24/7 support line operated by experienced counsellors with advanced suicide prevention training.
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