A new evidence review by researchers at University College London (UCL) has found that drugs commonly used for weight loss, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, reduce the main symptoms of bulimia nervosa.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses e-clinical medicinefound that weight loss drugs can reduce episodes of bulimia, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating, highlighting their potential role in the treatment of bulimia and obesity.
Bulimia, which involves regularly eating excessive amounts of food while feeling out of control, is common and highly disabling, affecting more than 17 million people worldwide.
However, treatment options are limited and there are currently no approved drugs, so better ways to help people living with this condition are still needed. We have found evidence that weight loss drugs may help manage some of the key symptoms of bulimia. ”
Dr Ilaria Costantini, UCL Psychiatry Lead author
In the largest study to date on the subject, researchers pooled evidence from 25 randomized controlled trials conducted in 12 countries on four continents, including data from 8,069 participants.
The study tested the effects of drugs that target the appetite-regulating hormone GLP-1, such as semaglutide (often sold under the brand names Ozempic or Wegovy), tirzepatide (also known as Mounjaro), or liraglutide.
These drugs can suppress appetite and delay stomach emptying by targeting the central nervous system and insulin secretion, while potentially affecting reward and impulse control processes in the brain.
Researchers found that the drug caused effects beyond weight loss, including reduced bulimia, loss of eating control, and emotional eating.
Participants also reported increases in cognitive and dietary restriction (related to how deliberately people restrict their diet), but researchers say more research is needed to understand this link.
The study’s lead author and PhD candidate Izzy Emptage (UCL Psychiatry) said: “The available evidence does not tell us whether increased dietary restriction reflects positive and beneficial self-control or a more dysfunctional eating pattern. We hope that future research will reveal whether taking weight loss drugs may contribute to more pathological forms of dietary restriction, such as skipping meals.”
Researchers say their findings show that weight loss drugs may be an important part of treatment plans for people with bulimia, along with psychotherapy and social support.
Izzy Emptage added: ‘Many people with bulimia do not have access to weight loss drugs through public healthcare providers, so many must seek treatment privately at significant out-of-pocket costs.
“By highlighting the potential of weight loss drugs to help symptoms of bulimia, we hope that our findings will lead to further funding for large-scale, high-quality research in this area, leading to a deeper understanding of how this drug can be used in practice and improving treatment options.”
Dr. Costantini said, “One of the strengths of our study is the inclusion of a lived experience panel, which has received important insight into opinions and concerns about the use of these drugs for bulimia, as well as the challenges that many people face when receiving treatment for bulimia.” “Importantly, we emphasized that sustainable recovery is likely to depend not only on pharmacotherapy, but also on psychotherapy and social support, as well as social norms and policy and community-level approaches to address weight bias.”
The researchers pointed to study limitations as most of the trials included in the review had a high risk of bias, were funded by pharmaceutical companies, and included few participants with a clinical diagnosis of binge eating disorder, which the researchers said limited the certainty of the study results.
They say that robust, independently funded, randomized controlled trials with long-term follow-up in people diagnosed with bulimia are still needed to clarify the potential clinical role of these drugs in helping treat bulimia and determine whether the observed short-term effects translate into meaningful and sustained improvements.
The study involved researchers from UCL’s School of Neuroscience, Population Health Sciences and Medicine, as well as researchers from the University of Exeter, University of Oxford, University of North Carolina and Karolinska Institutet, and was supported by Wellcome, the Medical Research Foundation and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
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Reference magazines:
Emptage, I. others. (2026). Efficacy of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) on overeating in obese patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. eClinical Medicine. DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2026.104007. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(26)00256-7/fulltext
