A Jab in the Dark: Growth in 'Microdosing' of Weight-Loss Drugs – But Does It Work?

A slim woman standing in a kitchen injects herself in the abdomen. Another jogs. A third kneels on a yoga mat drinking water. The shots are intercut with a doctor telling the viewer: "Usually it's for people who don't actually have that much to lose. It's a bit of a gentler way to get to your target weight."

- Julia Kollewe

The promotional video is from a private clinic in Leicester offering "microdosing", the latest trend in the weight-loss jab revolution.

The experimental approach involves taking less than the recommended dose of a GLP-1 medication such as Wegovy or Mounjaro in the hope of curbing hunger pangs just enough to sustain weight loss.

The use is "off-label" – doctors can prescribe a medicine in a different way from stipulations in its licence if they follow official guidelines – as there is little scientific research to show that it works and is safe.

Nevertheless, the practice is becoming increasingly popular with people who want to shift a few pounds but fall outside the drugs' target market – patients who are obese, overweight or diabetic.

Promoted by social media influencers, microdosing first gained popularity in the US, where the cost of the drugs is much higher – Novo Nordisk's Wegovy has a list price of $1,349 (£997) a month while Eli Lilly's Mounjaro is $1,080.

Now the trend is catching on in Britain. The Healand clinic in Leicester has been offering the microdose treatment for about a year, priced from £175 a month including support. Healand has 750 patients on it who start on a fifth of the normal dose.

Dr Omar Babar, the reassuring figure speaking in its promotional video, said microdosing benefited perimenopausal women who gain weight and struggle with fatigue and brain fog because of hormonal changes. His clinic also attracted men in their 30s as well as older men up to age 70.

"The idea is not to feel so suppressed, not to feel like you can't eat any more," Babar said. "The idea is that you just get a bit more gentle suppression of cravings."

His clients typically lose between 5kg (11lb) and 10kg. Nearly all work out several times a week and want "a bit more control over their health".