At Copperfield Tailors near Moorgate Tube station, father-and-son duo Chris and Dean Coleman have been taking in a lot of trousers.
The rise of weight-loss jabs among City workers has been a boon for the clothing alteration business. “They come in with suitcases of stuff,” said 45-year-old Dean. “You even lose [weight] off your neck and your wrists. It’s an all-over reshape.”
Seventy-three-year-old Chris said he had his own trousers adjusted following a stint taking the drug.
“I’m in the fortunate position where I can bring them in myself,” he added, although he admits he only lasted three months on the medication due to gastrointestinal discomfort.
Unpleasant side effects aside, the rise of drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy has slowly begun to change life in the City of London.
From business attire to gym habits to singles mixers, weight-loss drugs are having perceptible impacts, as they spread from the world of celebrities and the ultra-rich to ordinary office workers.
“Pretty much since the start of 2025 we’ve really seen an uptick in prescription volume,” says Gaurav Sabharwal, founder and medical director at One5 Health, a private GP which has offered weight-loss assessments for several years.
Originally developed as a treatment for diabetes, weight-loss drugs mimic the GLP-1 hormone, acting as an appetite suppressant by releasing insulin into the bloodstream.
The bar for prescribing GLP-1s within the NHS remains high, but online sellers and private clinics have contributed to the proliferation of the drug.
A YouGov poll in May found that 6 per cent of Londoners had used weight-loss jabs.
In September, pharmaceutical data company IQVIA estimated that around 2.4 million people across the UK were using Wegovy and Mounjaro, the vast majority of whom paid for the drug out of their own pocket due to limited coverage on the NHS.
Some offices have started to offer weight-loss drugs as part of employment benefit packages and private healthcare coverage through insurers such as Vitality.
Stylist Lisa Gillbe says her clients, primarily female executives, lawyers and tech professionals in the City, have started rethinking their workplace image after being prescribed GLP-1s.
“ We call them ‘Ozempic shops’,” she says, referencing the brand name for semaglutide – also the active ingredient in Wegovy – which is specifically approved for type 2 diabetes management and not weight loss.
“They’ve gone on the weight-loss drugs and they suddenly need a whole new wardrobe,” says Gillbe. “It’s a really considerable amount of work.”
She added that GLP-1 weight loss was “a huge moment in someone’s life” which had a “massive impact on how people view themselves”.
Weight loss jabs have also had an impact on after-work socialising.
It’s a Date, a speed dating service that holds events in the City, says it has seen dramatic weight-loss transformations among some of their attendees. “They just bring a different energy into the room,” says co-founder Ricardo Gato.
But the roaring demand for weight-loss medication has also raised concerns about counterfeits and the potentially damaging knock-on effects of rapid loss of body weight.
In August, the City of London Police released details of a seizure of fake weight-loss drugs that were being advertised online.
Earlier this year, NHS England’s medical director cautioned that weight-loss drugs were being used “inappropriately” as a “quick fix”.
For those taking jabs from an authorised source, there is still the risk of muscle loss and rapid gains in weight if they come off the medication.
“ The rebound is quite significant for most people,” says Sean Murphy, global chief personal training officer at Ultimate Performance, a high-end gym with locations near Liverpool Street and St Paul’s.
Murphy also warned that a significant reduction in calorie intake can result in muscle loss, which can be dangerous for older people.
“You’ve got to control your nutrition and make sure you don’t lose muscle. You’ve got to be having enough protein and you’ve got to resistance train,” he said.
Murphy added that better awareness about the effects of the drug had led more people to pair their weight-loss medication with regular trips to the gym.
Sabharwal, the founder of One5 Health, said he was also beginning to see positive public health effects of GLP-1s.
“ We’re definitely seeing a shift in mindset towards preventive health, which is ultimately what the country needs,” he said.
For tailors Chris and Dean at Copperfield, the shift has been most perceptible in the way people act when they come into their shop.
“They can enjoy themselves and actually get something that fits off the rack or have it made-to-measure,” said Chris. “That’s good for them.” – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025