WADA Keeps GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs Off 2027 Banned List

The World Anti-Doping Agency will not add GLP-1 weight-loss drugs to its prohibited list for 2027, meaning athletes will not be banned for using the medications under the new rules. BBC Sport reported that WADA confirmed the decision after a meeting of its executive committee. The substances will remain on the agency’s monitoring program.

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The 2027 rules are due to take effect in January as part of WADA’s annual review of prohibited substances and methods. Semaglutide, sold under brands including Ozempic and Wegovy, has been monitored since 2024. Tirzepatide, commonly marketed as Mounjaro, was added to the monitoring program in 2026.

A substance must meet at least two of three criteria to be placed on WADA’s prohibited list: the potential to enhance performance, a risk to athletes’ health, or a violation of the spirit of sport. WADA has not yet reached that threshold for GLP-1 drugs and is continuing to collect evidence about their effects and possible misuse.

Olivier Rabin, WADA’s senior director for science and medicine, told BBC Sport that the agency has begun one study and is preparing another. The research is designed to examine how the drugs affect non-obese, highly trained people in conditions intended to resemble elite exercise. Rabin said the controlled studies will require more time before firm conclusions can be drawn.

The agency is examining both possible advantages and potential drawbacks. Weight control could be relevant in category sports such as boxing and wrestling, while jockeys, endurance athletes and competitors in sports where physique matters may also have an incentive to reduce weight. Rabin said possible effects including nausea, fatigue and muscle loss could offset any perceived benefit for athletes.

BBC Sport also cited a recent Loughborough University survey of more than 100 sports medicine physicians in which 12% said they were aware of athletes using GLP-1 drugs without a medical need. For now, monitoring will continue without a ban. Under WADA’s usual timetable, any change approved at its executive committee meeting in September 2027 would take effect in January 2028.