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Why Are People Microdosing GLP-1 Medications — and Does It Work?
A closer look at what the science says about the weight loss trend, including potential health risks for older adults
VIDEO: Microdosing GLP-1s: What Influencers Aren’t Telling You
The popularity of GLP-1 medications, primarily approved for type 2 diabetes and weight management, has skyrocketed in recent years, propelled by their significant weight-loss effects. A 2025 poll from the health policy nonprofit KFF found that 1 in 8 adults now take a GLP-1, such as Ozempic or Wegovy, and nearly 1 in 5 has tried one. What’s more, a recent federal report finds use is highest among adults ages 50 to 64.
But not everyone is using these medications as intended. Many are taking much smaller doses than their doctor has prescribed or than those approved by the Food and Drug Administration — a trend known as microdosing.
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A 2025 survey of 640 GLP-1 users by Tebra, a digital health platform for medical practices, found that 36 percent of people taking GLP-1 drugs are microdosing, and that most who do so learned about it on social media platforms. Noom, a U.S.-based digital health company, says that microdosing accounts for a significant segment of its business.
Here’s a look at the microdosing trend and what the science says about its potential risks and benefits.
What is microdosing?
Microdosing is not a defined medical term, and people are using it to mean a few different things, including:
- Taking a dose of a compounded GLP-1 medication that’s less than what has been approved by the FDA.
- Using less medication than what your doctor has prescribed.
- Spacing out doses beyond the intervals recommended by your doctor.
Why are people microdosing?
The reasons run the gamut.
Some do it in an effort to reduce side effects of GLP-1 medications, the most common of which include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. A recent study led by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic, published in the journal Obesity, found that nearly 15 percent of people who stopped taking their GLP-1 medications did so because of side effects.
Others do it to save money; lower doses of the medication — or standard doses spread out over a longer period of time — mean lower costs. The same Cleveland Clinic study found that nearly half of the people who discontinued their medication cited financial reasons. Insurance coverage for GLP-1s remains limited, and out-of-pocket costs for injectable GLP-1s can reach roughly $1,300 a month. And while recent federal efforts have lowered costs for some consumers, and new oral options come with lower price tags, many people still struggle to afford their medication.
Another reason people microdose GLP-1s: to slow or maintain their weight loss — or even to lose smaller amounts, say 10 or 15 pounds.
Does microdosing GLP-1s work for weight loss?
The answer, many experts say, is unclear — and that’s because the research isn’t there yet. So far, GLP-1 medications have only been rigorously studied at standard doses.
“The FDA has not approved a microdose,” says Dr. Reshma Ramachandran, a family physician at Yale New Haven Health and an assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine. “So, our evidence [for the general population] and also older adults is very limited.”
What are the FDA-approved doses?
Federally approved GLP-1s for weight loss come in a range of doses. While it’s not the case for everyone, doctors typically start patients on a low dose, then increase it to achieve greater weight loss.
- Wegovy injection: 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, 2.4 mg and 7.2 mg
- Wegovy pill: 1.5 mg, 4 mg, 9 mg and 25 mg
- Zepbound injection: 2.5 mg, 5 mg, 7.5 mg, 10 mg, 12.5 mg and 15 mg
- Foundayo pill: 0.8 mg, 2.5 mg, 5.5 mg, 9 mg, 14.5 mg and 17.2 mg
Experts note that some people respond strongly to even the lowest approved doses of GLP-1 medications and may not need to increase them. Determining the right dose is a decision best made with your doctor. “I will use the right dose for the right patient at the right time,” says Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity medicine physician scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. “It’s about me finding what’s appropriate for the patient.”
What’s more, Ramachandran says there is no evidence to support social media claims that the trend has additional perceived benefits, such as reducing inflammation. (Clinical trials have linked standard GLP-1 doses to lower inflammation.) Nor is it a widely recommended method to lose a little weight.
Another consideration: Lowering the dose of a GLP-1 drug could reduce other benefits the medications provide, such as protection against heart and kidney disease.
Dr. Rozalina McCoy, associate division chief for clinical research in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, says that when her patients achieve weight goals on a GLP-1, she typically switches them to a less potent version, such as dulaglutide or liraglutide (Saxenda, Victoza). Both have evidence showing they can improve cardiovascular outcomes, though their effects on weight loss are less pronounced than those of the newer, more powerful GLP-1 agents, she says.
Microdosing and menopause
Weight gain during menopause is common, particularly around the abdomen, and it’s a frequent source of frustration for many women. Not surprisingly, microdosing GLP-1s has been marketed as a tool to help with menopausal weight gain.
Stanford says drug companies are researching the effects of GLP-1s on menopause. In the meantime, you may be a candidate for a GLP-1 if your weight gain has raised your BMI to 27 or higher and you have at least one other coexisting health condition, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
If your BMI is lower than 27 but you’re still discouraged about menopausal weight gain, talk to your doctor about other possible treatments.
Are there microdosing risks?
Health experts say that taking a smaller dose than what’s been approved or prescribed doesn’t mean there are fewer risks. Here are five to consider:
1. Safety and efficacy. The companies that make the FDA-approved GLP-1 drugs do not make microdoses, so if you’re taking less than the lowest approved dose (see sidebar), you’re getting a compounded medication “that has not been assessed by the FDA for safety and efficacy,” Ramachandran says. The FDA says compounded drugs should be used only for patients who cannot take an FDA-approved drug due to an allergy or other condition.
2. Oversight. Direct-to-consumer platforms that market microdosing have different prescribing protocols. For example, some require an online appointment with a clinician before dispensing the drugs; others ask for a brief medical history and a list of your current medications, though the requirements can vary by state.
Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity medicine physician scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, says her concern with many of these platforms is that “there’s no feedback loop.” Patients, she says, need to be closely monitored by a clinician who understands how to use these medicines correctly and is in constant communication with them.
3. Infection risk. Some GLP-1 medications come in a pen injector, and since the pens come with a set number of needles, changing doses may mean people reuse needles and risk infection.
A version of the GLP-1 drug Zepbound comes in a vial that patients draw from with a syringe. It’s intended as a single-use container, but some patients microdose Zepbound by using the vial for multiple doses. As with the pen injectors, reusing the same needle can put you at risk for infection.
4. Dosing errors. Adjusting your dose on your own — without your doctor’s guidance — can lead to problems. Taking too little medication means you may not see the results you expect, while taking too much can trigger unwanted side effects such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
Most brand-name GLP-1 drugs come in prefilled pen devices and are typically used by moving or “clicking” the pen to align an arrow on the device with the number that corresponds to the intended dose. But according to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, counting personalized clicks rather than matching the dosage number with the arrow could result in someone taking a higher or lower dose than intended if they get the clicks wrong because of mobility issues such as arthritis or tremors, or hearing or vision loss, which makes it hard to see the knob or hear the clicks.
5. Muscle loss. GLP-1 drugs come with risks such as muscle loss that makes older individuals, in particular, more prone to falls and frailty — and that may be the case even at lower doses.
The research continues
While future research could indicate that lower doses than those now approved are safe and effective, Dr. Nathan Wood, codirector of the Weight Management Clinic at the New Haven Primary Care Consortium and an assistant professor of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine, says he thinks “a lot of people will need [the doses]… that are [currently] FDA approved in order to lose weight, and then in order to maintain that weight loss.”
Bottom line: If you’re concerned about GLP-1 costs, side effects or weight maintenance, talk to your routine health care provider.
“Treatment adjustment is patient and provider specific,” says Anne Kome, a clinical pharmacist practitioner in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of North Carolina Medical Center, and the coauthor of a study on microdosing GLP-1 drugs. “Care must be individualized and tailored to the needs of each patient based on comorbidities, concurrent medications and personal preferences.”
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