Fresh research has pointed to a “bleak” connection between GLP-1 weight-loss medications such as Ozempic and women’s prospects in both work and dating, with the results prompting a strong reaction.
The findings come as GLP-1 drugs, originally developed for diabetes and now widely used for weight management, have become one of the most talked-about health and lifestyle trends in the U.S. Their popularity has also sharpened debates over access, cost, and whether slimmer bodies still face advantages in hiring and dating.
Harvard economist Rebecca Diamond began looking into the topic after hearing repeated stories from friends who said they noticed a change in how others treated them after losing a substantial amount of weight while taking a GLP-1 medication.
She told Business Insider:
“I went to just look to see what the literature says on economic and social outcomes of these drugs,” she explained. “But I couldn’t find a paper, which I was sort of shocked by.”
Diamond then examined a large dataset that compared people taking GLP-1 drugs, people not taking them, and people who wanted to begin treatment but had not yet done so. Even after accounting for variables such as race and health, the analysis suggested what she described as an “uncomfortable story.”
The research, which is based on a working paper and has not yet been peer reviewed, focused on women and used a longitudinal U.S. survey to compare outcomes over time. Diamond and her coauthors looked at whether GLP-1 use was associated with changes in employment, partnership status, self-rated health and mental health.
Among women who were unemployed, those who had started GLP-1 treatment were 27 percentage points more likely to get a job within 18 months than women who wanted the medication but were unable to access it.
The difference was even more pronounced in relationships. Women using GLP-1s were 29 percentage points more likely to either move in with a partner or get married during that same 18-month period.
Notably, the medication appeared to make no difference for women who were already employed or already in relationships. Those who already had jobs did not see increases in either pay or working hours, while women who already had partners were no more likely to stay together or break up.
According to the research, the benefits were only visible in situations shaped by a “first impression” such as being considered for a new job or meeting a potential partner.
Diamond stopped short of saying the findings conclusively proved weight discrimination, acknowledging that better health could partly explain the improvement in employment outcomes. However, she also found no meaningful shift in participants’ mental health, raising the possibility that external perceptions of women’s bodies may be playing a role.
The study also highlighted the financial barrier tied to these drugs. Roughly 40% of the women in the dataset who were using GLP-1s were paying for them themselves, at around $300 per month. Those women also tended to come from the highest-income households, while the women who wanted the medication but had not started treatment were typically in the lowest-income group.
That has fueled worries that access to the drugs could deepen existing inequality, allowing wealthier women to benefit from the social and economic effects associated with weight loss while leaving lower-income women unable to afford the same opportunity.
The issue is especially relevant now that access to GLP-1s remains uneven. Some large employers still cover the drugs for obesity treatment, but others have been tightening coverage as costs rise, and many patients without diabetes still pay out of pocket or rely on discount programs. In the broader U.S. population, surveys have suggested that roughly one in eight adults has used a GLP-1 medication, underscoring how quickly the drugs have moved from niche treatment to mass-market phenomenon.
The research aligns with findings from a 2023 Society for Human Resource Management survey, which reported that about one in four HR professionals believed obese employees were more likely to be viewed as unmotivated or lazy than thinner co-workers.