Off-label Semaglutide & GLP-1 weight-loss medicine use for anti-ageing: A Netnography of older bodybuilders’ experiences and understandings

Turnock, L, Germain, J ORCID: 0000-0002-9890-3798, Hirst, M and Hearne, E ORCID: 0000-0002-5308-5736 (2025) Off-label Semaglutide & GLP-1 weight-loss medicine use for anti-ageing: A Netnography of older bodybuilders’ experiences and understandings. Performance Enhancement and Health, 14 (1). p. 100355. ISSN 2211-2669

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Abstract

Background
GLP-1 weight-loss medicines (e.g. Semaglutide; Tirzepatide) are increasingly prevalent, with many users accessing these drugs off-label through the internet for lifestyle purposes. However, to date there has been little research examining their use for anti-ageing purposes. This article fills this gap by examining the perspectives and experiences of older bodybuilders on forums regarding their use of GLP drugs for anti-ageing.
Methods
This research was a netnography of the two largest bodybuilding and steroid specific forums on the web, exploring 12,392 unique posts from the top 160 threads, captured in 2024. Qualitative thematic analysis of posts was undertaken.
Findings
GLP drugs were felt to have a number of benefits for anti-ageing, longevity and general wellbeing. Many older bodybuilders took them for their anti-inflammatory effects, which allowed them to train despite age-related joint pain and general inflammation. Further, many bodybuilders highlighted emerging scientific research regarding GLP medicines’ potential benefits for anti-ageing more broadly, including brain and heart health, and improving insulin sensitivity when older. The role of ‘expert’ users on forums sharing findings from scientific research encouraged forms of use beyond existing clinical guidelines, but also facilitated harm reduction by encouraging forum users to switch from higher risk drugs like HGH and growth hormone secreting peptides to GLP medicines for anti-ageing.
Discussion
It is clear that anti-ageing is a significant motivator for GLP use among older bodybuilders, and public health policy must understand and acknowledge older users’ distinct motivations and approaches to use in order to best serve this population. The role of forum folk pharmacology in both encouraging unapproved therapies, but also enabling harm reduction through encouraging safer approaches to drug use is also important to understand when considering public health approaches to this population.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences; 1117 Public Health and Health Services; 1701 Psychology; 4206 Public health; 4207 Sports science and exercise
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions:	Public and Allied Health
Publisher:	Elsevier
Date of acceptance:	12 June 2025
Date of first compliant Open Access:	3 November 2025
Date Deposited:	03 Nov 2025 10:03
Last Modified:	03 Nov 2025 10:15
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.peh.2025.100355
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27464

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