From mouthwash to hair dye: How weight-loss jabs are changing shopping habits

Mounjaro and Wegovy – the UK’s most popular weight-loss medications – work by mimicking a natural hormone, GLP-1, which regulates hunger, and those who use then say they find their appetite is reduced.

In June, market research company Worldpanel by Numerator published a study looking at how this affects grocery spending among UK users. The research was based on survey responses and observed purchase data from more than 11,000 households in February.

A key finding was that households with at least one GLP-1 user spent on average £418 less on groceries in the year after they began their medication, compared with non-users.

This amounted to a fall of £780m in grocery spending nationally, it estimated.

It chimes with a peer-reviewed study from Cornell University, external published last year, which found that US households with at least one member using weight-loss drugs spent 5% less on groceries within six months of starting the medication, with that rising to 8% among higher income families.