How weight-loss drug Mounjaro is making Ireland the world\u2019s fastest-growing economyOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\nFrom 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cPretty much since the start of 2025 we\u2019ve really seen an uptick in prescription volume,\u201d says Gaurav Sabharwal, founder and medical director at One5 Health, a private GP which has offered weight-loss assessments for several years.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
A YouGov poll in May found that 6 per cent of Londoners had used weight-loss jabs.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Some offices have started to offer weight-loss drugs as part of employment benefit packages and private healthcare coverage through insurers such as Vitality.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aWe call them \u2018Ozempic shops\u2019,\u201d she says, referencing the brand name for semaglutide \u2013 also the active ingredient in Wegovy \u2013 which is specifically approved for type 2 diabetes management and not weight loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve gone on the weight-loss drugs and they suddenly need a whole new wardrobe,\u201d says Gillbe. \u201cIt\u2019s a really considerable amount of work.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added that GLP-1 weight loss was \u201ca huge moment in someone\u2019s life\u201d which had a \u201cmassive impact on how people view themselves\u201d.<\/p>\n
Weight loss jabs have also had an impact on after-work socialising. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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. \u201cThey just bring a different energy into the room,\u201d says co-founder Ricardo Gato.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In August, the City of London Police released details of a seizure of fake weight-loss drugs that were being advertised online. <\/p>\n
Earlier this year, NHS England\u2019s medical director cautioned that weight-loss drugs were being used \u201cinappropriately\u201d as a \u201cquick fix\u201d.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aThe rebound is quite significant for most people,\u201d says Sean Murphy, global chief personal training officer at Ultimate Performance, a high-end gym with locations near Liverpool Street and St Paul\u2019s. <\/p>\n
Murphy also warned that a significant reduction in calorie intake can result in muscle loss, which can be dangerous for older people.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to control your nutrition and make sure you don\u2019t lose muscle. You\u2019ve got to be having enough protein and you\u2019ve got to resistance train,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Sabharwal, the founder of One5 Health, said he was also beginning to see positive public health effects of GLP-1s.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aWe\u2019re definitely seeing a shift in mindset towards preventive health, which is ultimately what the country needs,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
For tailors Chris and Dean at Copperfield, the shift has been most perceptible in the way people act when they come into their shop.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can enjoy themselves and actually get something that fits off the rack or have it made-to-measure,\u201d said Chris. \u201cThat\u2019s good for them.\u201d \u2013 Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At Copperfield Tailors near Moorgate Tube station, father-and-son duo Chris and Dean Coleman have been taking in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[103,61,60,99,11495,782,14955],"class_list":["post-211830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-london","tag-mounjaro","tag-nhs","tag-wegovy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}