Background
This ruling forms part of a wider piece of work on prescription-only medicines (POMs) used for weight loss, identified for investigation following complaints received. See also related rulings published on 9 July 2025 and 17 December 2025.
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.Ad description
A paid-for Facebook ad for Chequp, a provider of weight-loss medications and services, seen on 30 July 2025, featured an image of a woman looking at herself in a mirror. Text stated, “I don’t want to be skinny. I just don’t want to be the biggest person in the room”. Further text stated, “Check your eligibility in 3 MIN” and “You will be required to undergo an assessment to check your suitability”. The caption stated, "Thousands are already on their way to lasting weight loss with CheqUp’s guided programme. Check your eligibility today".Issue
The complainant challenged whether the ad:1. breached the Code because it promoted POMs; and
2. was irresponsible because it suggested having a larger body was undesirable and therefore exploited people’s insecurities around body image.
Response
1. Chequp Health Ltd t/a Chequp said that the ad was for their weight-loss consultation service. They also said that the text “Check your eligibility in 3 MIN” and “You will be required to undergo an assessment to check your suitability” referred to that service, which included prescription-only and non-prescription weight-loss medication. They explained that the consultation had to be completed regardless of which medication, if any, was offered. This was always subject to the advice of a healthcare professional and the customer's suitability; the ad linked to a website where consumers were subject to assessment by a healthcare professional for suitability for any of the treatments before they were able to make a purchase. They also said that the consultation did not guarantee that a POM would be prescribed, and that the ad made no reference to POMs, either in text or via imagery.
Chequp stated that the ad, seen on 30 July 2025, pre-dated CAP's Enforcement Notice of 23 September 2025. They believed it was not clear to the industry, prior to that Notice, whether an ad that made no mention of POMs would still be considered in breach of the Code if the webpage containing the consultation service link also included reference to all treatments available. They therefore considered it unfair to apply that position retrospectively to an ad that pre-dated the Notice and had not been run since August 2025. They explained that the landing page had since been revised to comply with CAP/ASA advice so that it made no mention of POMs.
2. Chequp said that they intentionally used an individual who appeared significantly overweight and clearly not a healthy weight. The ad was framed around the individual's subjective reasoning for wanting to manage their weight. They said that the largest text focused on not wanting to be skinny because the aim was to promote a healthy body weight rather than an unrealistic weight.
They said that they would not want to make people feel undesirable or ashamed of their bodies. They sought to make people feel good about themselves and achieve a healthy body. Their aim was to ensure people knew how important it was to maintain a healthy lifestyle through weight management, diet and exercise. They said that anyone seeking treatment for obesity, a chronic condition, should not be stigmatised into feeling that it was merely an “insecurity”.
They believed the ad did not give the impression that people of a healthy weight should try to lose weight. Instead, it was intended to make consumers feel heard and supported. Through research, Chequp had learned that many consumers were expressing a desire not to be "the biggest person in the room". The ad reflected genuine consumer concerns and was intended to be relatable. The intention of the ad was to bring that concern to life from an individual’s perspective, not to generalise. It was the opinion and desires of one person: her feelings and weight goals. She was shown alone in the ad and no one was shown judging her or representing what she “should look like”.
They did not believe that the composition of the ad or its language stated or implied that being overweight was undesirable. They believed people wanted to manage their weight for numerous reasons and it could cause people anxiety, lack of confidence and unhappiness if they were not comfortable in their body. The ad was intended to bring to life those concerns rather than to “body shame”. The ad did not include accusatory or denigratory language, which would make people feel they had to lose weight or that being overweight was generally undesirable.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The CAP Code stated that POMs or prescription-only medical treatments must not be advertised to the public. That general prohibition was in place prior to the CAP Enforcement Notice issued in September 2025, which was intended to remind advertisers of the general prohibition on advertising POMs, including those used for weight management.
The ad referred to a person expressing a desire to lose weight and text that stated, “Check your eligibility in 3 MIN” and “You will be required to undergo an assessment to check your suitability”. The caption read, "Thousands are already on their way to lasting weight loss with CheqUp’s guided programme. Check your eligibility today". The ad linked to a landing page on the Chequp website, via a pop-up box that required customers to confirm that they were over 18 and included the text “Support your weight loss journey with our range of licensed weight loss treatments […] Approved online by our UK clinical experts […]”.
The landing page included the heading “Medicated Weight Loss Programme”. It featured the sub-heading “Weight loss treatment options”. Under that sub-heading were images of two branded injection pens with the text “Mounjaro” and “Wegovy”. The ASA understood Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Wegovy (semaglutide) were classed as POMs.
We acknowledged that the ad did not include a named POM and that from the ad the user was first directed through an age gate. We considered that the age gate functioned as a means of asking the user to confirm that they were old enough to use the site’s service before continuing to the landing page.
We also acknowledged that the landing page that linked from the age gate also included the option of an over-the-counter (OTC) weight-loss treatment, and that all treatments required an online consultation. However, we considered that in providing a link to a landing page that featured a named POM, the paid-for Facebook ad advertised POMs.
We sought advice from the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). They expressed concern that the proactive provision of a direct link to a webpage or landing page that did not require any searching from the consumer to access that information (i.e., information about “Mounjaro” and “Wegovy”) could be analogous to that of a website homepage. MHRA guidance for providers offering medicinal treatment services outlined that homepages should focus on medical conditions and the service provided, and should not include any reference to named POMs.
For those reasons we considered that the ad had advertised POMs to the public and concluded that it breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.12 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
2. Upheld
The CAP code required that marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society.
The ad included the text, “I don’t want to be skinny. I just don’t want to be the biggest person in the room” along with the image of a woman viewing herself in a mirror.
We acknowledged that she was the only person present and that she was not shown as being judged by, or compared to, others. We understood the ad intended to portray an individual’s thoughts and concerns about their size, which was based on Chequp’s own research. However, we considered that in portraying such concerns, the ad suggested that there was stigma associated with being “the biggest person in the room” and therefore exploited insecurities around body image.
We understood that Chequp sought to promote a healthy body weight and weight management by showing a model they described as appearing significantly overweight rather than a healthy weight, and by using the text, “I don’t want to be skinny”. However, we considered that it was not necessarily the case that a person of the body size and shape shown would be unhealthy. Furthermore, by showing the model looking into a mirror, the ad emphasised physical appearance rather than health.
For those reasons, we concluded the ad was irresponsible and therefore breached the Code.
On that point, the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.3 (Social Responsibility).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Chequp Health Ltd t/a Chequp not to promote prescription-only medicines (POMs) to the public and to ensure that future ads did not irresponsibly exploit people’s insecurities around body image.
