Eli Lilly has successfully challenged Noom’s “A Smaller Dose. A Smarter Start” claim, leading the National Advertising Division (NAD) to recommend the digital health company change or drop the statement.
Noom provides weight management and behavioral health services. The company prescribes generic, compounded and branded medications, offers a personalized protocol that more gradually increases the dose and provides behavioral support through its digital platform. A Noom claim about its dosing protocol caught the attention of Lilly, which makes the GLP-1 weight-loss drugs Foundayo and Zepbound.
Lilly complained to the self-regulatory body, the NAD, part of the nonprofit BBB National Programs, about the claim “Noom GLP-1Rx Program A Smaller Dose. A Smarter Start. Microdose GLP-1Rx Starts at $119.”
The NAD investigated whether the claim “constituted non-actionable puffery or, in context, conveyed an objective health-related message requiring substantiation.” Concluding the claim suggests that Noom’s product is “smarter” because of its “smaller” dose, the self-regulatory body investigated whether evidence supported the idea that the lower dose provides a measurable, health-related benefit.
Noom failed to provide adequate support for the message, the NAD found, leading the organization to recommend changes to the claim. The NAD proposed that Noom either drop the claim or change the wording to avoid conveying the message that the lower dose “provides a measurable, health-related benefit that makes it a smarter or better way to begin treatment.”
In a statement to the NAD, Noom said it disagreed with the self-regulatory body’s conclusion but agreed to comply with the recommendation. Nothing in the ruling stops Noom from promoting its program or the benefits of behavior-modification tools as a smarter start. But the company must avoid tying its messages to unsupported dosage-related benefits.
Noom permanently discontinued all other challenged express claims during the inquiry, the NAD said. As such, the NAD didn’t review Noom’s other claims, which included dosing, efficacy, side effects and other health-related statements.
In March 2025, Noom partnered with LillyDirect pharmacy provider, Gifthealth, to streamline access to Zepbound. However, the pharmacy provider reportedly terminated the integration three months later. Between the events, Noom began providing smaller doses of compounded versions of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy as the FDA ended the shortage that permitted mass-market compounding of the GLP-1 drug.