Tue, February 24, 2026
WADA considering ban on slimming drugs
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) may add well-known slimming drugs to its Prohibited List ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. A decision is expected by the end of 2026 or in 2027, according to Sky News. WADA will evaluate the risk such drugs pose to the health of athletes, whether they give users an unfair advantage and/or whether the drugs violate the spirit of sport.
To ban the drugs, they need to meet 2 out of the 3 criteria just stated. Endurance athletes would most likely gain the biggest advantage from the drugs. WADA is reportedly concentrating on Semaglutide which is found in Ozempic and Wegovy.
Medical professionals have highlighted the health risks that come from abuse of such drugs such as energy deficiencies – the drugs make you feel fuller, so you eat less - which also contribute to the risk of injury. Another concern is that the drugs will increase body image issues within sport.
WADA’s Senior Director of Science and Medicine, Olivier Rabin, told Sky News that the organisation will be monitoring a ‘change in paradigm.’ To elaborate: “We want to see whether we detect patterns of abuse of this drug or this class of substances in sport…
So we keep an eye on them because there's been a change in paradigm in the way weight can be controlled because of those drugs. So there is an interest from all sides, from the performance enhancing aspects and health protection of the athletes with this class of substances [and] will they end up being on the [banned] list.”
Kate Seary, co-founder of the Kyniska Advocacy, which champions safe sport for all involved in sport in the UK, voiced: “There are toxic environments where the idea that thin equals fast, thin equals powerful, or even thin equals beautiful in sport are still really present…
And that is because they're under a number of wider pressures within the sport system. I think I would always go along the lines of banning it until we know the long-term consequences.”
Former Team GB Olympics physician, Dr Ian Beasley, highlighted the issues surrounding monitoring the use of such substances: “if you wanted to cheat, could you take it during a close season and then reap the benefits during the season? And how would you be able to measure that? I think these are the questions that WADA are grappling with that make life very difficult.”
A Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), granted to athletes with a documented medical condition allowing them to take, without penalty, a substance or method listed on the WADA Prohibited List, may allow athletes with legitimate conditions such as Type 2 diabetes to still be able to use such drugs.
Last year, 23-time Grand Slam tennis champion, Serena Williams, was involved in controversy due to her promotion of GLP-1 weight loss medication, which includes Ozempic. She faced scrutiny for possibly encouraging toxic beauty standards, discouraging healthy habits, and for affiliating herself with drugs that WADA added to its monitored substances list.
Bryan Armen Graham stated in The Guardian that this was “not a spontaneous embargo,” but “a coordinated media blitz pegged to the US Open [in 2025].”
A similar sentiment was reported by The Irish Times, “even in Canada, where there are restrictions governing the advertising of prescription drugs, tennis fans around the world would have been struck by the prominent appearance of Ozempic at the Canadian Open earlier this month. The name of the semaglutide injection, as one of the sponsors of the event, was visible behind female players as they served…
It was curious to spot “Ozempic” emblazoned courtside, in a professional sporting environment, as WADA added GLP-1s to its monitored substances list and is expected to rule in 2026 on whether it will permit athletes to use them.”
Some industry observers argue that companies often seek to align with high-profile athletes to enhance the visibility and acceptance of GLP-1 medications. They suggest this strategy could contribute to the growing mainstream use of such drugs, despite ongoing debates about their long-term impact.
