GLP-1 Drugs Quietly Reshape How Americans Shop for Food, Study Finds

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Weight loss may be just one side effect of GLP-1 drugs. A new study suggests they’re also changing how consumers spend on food.

Researchers at Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business found that households with at least one GLP-1 user reduced grocery spending by 5.3% within six months of starting treatment. Higher-income households saw even steeper declines of 8.2%.

The study examined users of popular obesity drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s (NYSE:NVO) Wegovy and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Company’s Zepbound and was published in the Journal of Marketing Research.

The sharpest pullbacks were concentrated in calorie-dense, processed foods, with spending on savory snacks falling 10.1%. Outlays at fast-food restaurants, coffee shops, and other limited-service dining venues dropped about 8%.

Some healthier categories, such as yogurt, saw modest increases. Notably, researchers found food purchases tend to revert once GLP-1 use ends, underscoring both the scale and limits of the shift.