Cheating Your Way to Losing: Perceptions of the Use of Weight Loss Medication

Consumers frequently make judgments about others’ health-related behaviors. Yet the rise of the GLP-1 weight loss industry has sent these judgments into overdrive. Three studies demonstrate that consumers who lose weight using GLP-1 medications are perceived as less moral than those who lose weight through traditional means like diet and exercise. These judgments arise because GLP-1 users are viewed as exerting less effort and taking a less fair approach, with fairness serving as the moral lens through which effort is evaluated. Further, these perceptions decrease observers’ intentions to seek referrals for or recommend GLP-1 use to others. Importantly, these inferences are malleable: signaling concurrent effort, particularly through following restrictive diets, can reduce moral scrutiny and improve social evaluations. Together, our findings highlight the reputational costs associated with GLP-1 use and demonstrate how visible signals of effort can help individuals manage the moral judgments that accompany stigmatized self-improvement methods.