For some people, a prescription to GLP-1 drugs will hit their pocket hard.
But at the same time, they’ll be buying much less food; so won’t this offset the out-of-pocket costs?
When people in the U.S. start taking appetite suppressing medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, the changes don’t stop at the scale.
Research shows these drugs are also reshaping how much households spend on food, both at grocery stores and restaurants.
A study from Cornell University found that people using GLP-1 drugs tend to buy less food overall.
That includes fewer groceries and fewer meals eaten away from home.
This isn’t surprising, though, being that this class of drugs snuffs out “food noise” and makes patients think less about food, crave less of their favorite foods and just overall take in fewer mouthfuls per day.
The research was published in the Journal of Marketing Research.
How Researchers Tracked Food Spending
To study their impact, researchers combined survey responses with actual purchase data from tens of thousands of U.S. households.
Instead of relying on what people said they ate, the study connected what households reported about medication use with what they actually bought.
This made it easier to see how food purchasing changed after people started using the drugs.
The data came from Numerator, a market research firm that tracks grocery and restaurant purchases for about 150,000 households nationwide.
Grocery and Restaurant Spending Drops Quickly
Within six months of starting a GLP-1 medication, people in this research spent an average of 5.3% less on food.
For higher-income households, the decline was even larger, with grocery spending falling by more than 8%.
It’s not just typical grocery shopping or eating out at fast-food places that comes to mind.
Spending at coffee shops and other smaller enterprises, such as burrito stands or food trucks, also dropped.
For households that stayed on the medication, lower food spending continued for at least a year.
Over time, the reductions became smaller, but spending generally remained below previous levels.
What Happens After People Stop Taking the Medication
The study also looked at what happened when people discontinued GLP-1 drugs.
According to the research, food spending patterns slowly began to move back toward earlier levels after people stopped taking the medication.
However, those changes were less clear and harder to separate from normal spending behavior.
In short, the biggest shifts happen while people are actively using the drugs.
Snack Foods Take the Biggest Hit
Not all food categories were affected equally.
The largest declines showed up in ultra-processed, calorie dense foods often tied to cravings.
Spending on savory snacks dropped by about 10%.
Similar decreases were seen in candy, cookies, donuts, brownies and dessert type foods.
Even everyday staples like bread, chicken and eggs saw lower spending.
Only a few categories increased, and those changes were relatively small.
Yogurt spending rose the most, followed by fresh fruit, nutrition bars and meat snacks.
Something to keep in mind, though: Most “nutrition bars” are glorified candy bars.
They have as much sugar as a classic candy bar from a vending machine.
It’s just that the maker puts in some seeds, nuts and fiber and gives it a name that suggests healthfulness.
Some of these bars have corn syrup and sugar as leading ingredients.
Taking the Hit
Might Big Food, fast-food places and smaller enterprises take a bigger hit as GLP use continues to grow?
Well, they certainly may need to adjust — kind of like how the U.S. Postal Service has had to adjust to the hit it’s taken for years now due to the advent of online payment setups.
That could mean smaller portion sizes, new product formulations or changes in how foods are marketed.
As GLP-1 medications become more common, their ripple effects on eating habits and the food industry can only grow, says this fascinating research.
Looks like this class of drugs (or future modifications of it) is here to stay for the long-term.
