Over the past few years, there has been a surplus of social media influencers promoting a “better body image,” with an uptick in online people preferring a slimmer figure. In order to maintain this slim physique, they have resorted to using weight loss drugs, known as “peptides.”
Peptides are chemical compounds that are sold online for weight loss, but are not not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. In fact, the FDA deemed 19 peptide drugs too unsafe to be given out by pharmacies to individuals due to safety issues. But, with the increased demand of weight loss drugs, many people go to “grey markets” and foreign labs to create some of these substances.
The most popular of these illegal peptides is a chemical called GLP-3, or Retatrutide, which unlike other GLP-1 weight loss chemicals like Ozempic or Mounjaro that are legal, targets three receptors and works extremely fast with results seen as quickly as two weeks.
Despite being illegal, these weight loss products have become very easy to get ahold of online. Compounds like Retatrutide are being worked on Eli Lilly and Company and are not legally approved, but, grey-market companies such as Onyx Labs, Amino Club, and Neuro Labs openly advertise them as “research chemicals” and sell them online.
TikTok and other social media platforms have brought these chemicals into the spotlight, and many people have been trying to get their hands on them, despite not enough research on them. These companies often claim their products are professionally manufactured and lab-tested, but without FDA approval, there is little safety. In some cases, these chemicals may be contaminated with substances such as heavy metals or diluted with other compounds, making them dangerous.
Injecting these chemicals are not just dangerous long-term, but also put people at risk for serious side effects, as well as a high risk for misuse. Because these substances are not medically prescribed or properly regulated, there are no reliable dosage guidelines. Many users follow advice from influencers rather than healthcare professionals, ignoring important factors such as age, height, weight, and medical history.
Other chemicals like GHK-CU, which is a chemical that supposedly helps with skin and hair growth, has also been marketed towards the younger generation. As grey market companies are capitalizing on the younger generations’ beauty standards, they are putting young people at risk.
Although the idea of a fast-acting, cheap, and supposedly side-effect-free drug can sound appealing, there is still far too much that remains unknown about these substances. Because many of these compounds are so new, their long-term effects have not been fully researched. When combined with the risks of contamination, misuse, and online misinformation, the dangers may outweigh the benefits these “wonder drugs” appear to offer.
