An ITV News investigation has revealed that patients are using AI and photo editing tools to alter images to obtain weight loss drugs.
Online pharmacies often require a selection of images to verify whether a patient is over a certain weight and meet the criteria to be prescribed weight loss medications.
AI deception for weight loss medication
To investigate how easy it is to access weight loss injections through online pharmacies, while not meeting the criteria, ITV journalist Cree-Summer Haughton used simple editing tools to widen her waist, face, and body, before submitting the images to multiple online pharmacies.
Within just two days of submitting the image to an online pharmacy, a box containing Mounjaro arrived. After one week her images had been approved by three different online pharmacies, and she was able to get hold of Mounjaro from each pharmacy,
The report mentioned a patient who was a size eight when she first started taking weight loss medications, who told the ITV that it took her just five minutes to edit her image, which was approved by an online pharmacy.
Growing concern surrounding eating disorders and body image
Taking weight loss medication is no longer a taboo topic, and combined with how accessible it is to most patients, there is growing concern surrounding the dangers of weight loss medications becoming “the normal.”
Reality star Nicola McClean opened up about the side effects she experienced after taking Mounjaro, sharing “ I would have taken the sickness, if it had meant being skinny, because I got back into that mindset and it was the only thing I cared about.
“At the minute it’s back to being a 90s super model, everyone wants to be heroin chic.”
Lorna Richards, a consultant at Priory, told ITV, “Six months ago, we hadn’t come across this, people have started using [weight-loss drugs] within the eating-disorder population, as well as the general population.”
Regulations from the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) require either a two-way consultation or independent verification to ensure a patient meets the medical criteria for weight loss medications.
While some online pharmacies do not accept AI-altered images - requesting live video consultations, photos next to a scale or real-time verification - others relied on images alone.
General Pharmaceutical Council response
Roz Gittins, Chief Pharmacy Officer at the General Pharmaceutical Council, said: “We have followed up on the findings from a report by ITV News that people have been able to obtain weight management medicines from three online pharmacies without full and appropriate checks being carried out.
“We have inspected all three of these pharmacies. Two were not meeting all of our standards, and one remains under investigation. To protect the public, we are taking action so they make improvements to meet our standards.
“Our guidance is clear that when prescribing medicines used for weight management, the information provided by the person, including their weight, height and/or body mass index must be checked.
“We routinely inspect hundreds of pharmacies each month and have contact with many more in response to concerns that we receive. When we find a pharmacy is not meeting our standards, we take appropriate action against the pharmacy and also consider taking action against the pharmacists and pharmacy technicians involved."
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