Medications used for weight loss such as Ozempic may be stirring up the food industry, with a recent report revealing that Canadians on certain drugs are tightening their belts on restaurant outings, snack indulgences and drinking alcohol.
A report published Tuesday by Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab in Halifax estimates that between 900,000 and 1.4 million Canadians use GLP-1 receptor agonists. These are a group of drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes and are often used to combat obesity. They trigger insulin release, reduce glucose production in your liver and make you feel full. Examples of these drugs include Ozempic, Wegovy and Saxenda.
Over the past few years, there has been a huge boom in the popularity of Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, a Type 2 diabetes drug that is also known for its off-label use for weight loss. The demand for Ozempic and its sister drug Wegovy is so high that it has also led to shortages in Canada.
“The use of GLP-1 drugs is impacting the food industry already…. The craving is just not there,” said Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab.
“Many people have reported having made different food choices, they’re behaving differently, both at the grocery store and at the restaurant. If they do go to the restaurant, they’re eating less, fewer sweets, less chocolate and they’re drinking less alcohol.”
As more Canadians start using Ozempic and other related weight loss medications, researchers at Dalhousie University sought to investigate the potential implications of this shift on future food industry trends.
The researchers surveyed more than 8,000 Canadians in December 2023 to help understand the usage rate of GLP-1 drugs, their purpose and their impact on people’s food choices.
The results found around 10 per cent of the adult population use a type of GLP-1 drug, which is higher among males than females. Use of the drug remains consistent across different age groups, with millennials leading at a 12 per cent usage rate, followed closely by gen X at 11 per cent and both baby boomers and gen Z at 10 per cent.
Ontario has the highest usage rate at 13 per cent, while Prince Edward Island records the lowest rate at four per cent, according to the report.
When asked about the reason for using a GLP-1 drug, 57 per cent of respondents attributed it to Type 2 diabetes management, 27 per cent cited weight loss as their primary reason and 11 per cent stated it was for both purposes.
“We believe that anywhere between 250,000 to 400,000 people are using a GLP-1 drug to lose weight in Canada. So that’s about the size of Halifax,” Charlebois told Global News.
How does Ozempic change food choice?
Many companies heavily depend on impulse food and beverage purchases, whether it’s grabbing a bag of chips while waiting in line at the grocery store or picking up a soda at a gas station, Charlebois said. As individuals increasingly opt for healthier choices, he noted that companies may have a decline in profits from these spontaneous purchases.
“Because the craving is disappearing for some, it becomes more difficult for companies who rely on impulse buying to increase sales,” he explained.
The Dalhousie University report found that among people who take drugs like Ozempic, 45.5 per cent reported eating less since starting to use it. Around 21 per cent stated they went to restaurants less often and 16 per cent acknowledged purchasing fewer groceries due to the GLP-1 drug. Additionally, 44 per cent of respondents said they had lost weight.
Here is a list of what percentage of respondents reported eating less of certain foods:
The categories with the highest percentages of people stopping consumption comprise sweet bakery goods, snacks (such as candy) and packaged cookies. The researchers propose that GLP-1 drugs “significantly” reduce individuals’ consumption of sugary and highly processed foods.
A September 2023 survey by U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley predicted that as more people start taking weight management medication, the food, beverage and restaurant industries could see softer demand, particularly for unhealthier foods and high-fat, sweet and salty options.
Like the Dalhousie University survey, it also found that confectionery, baked goods and salty snacks appear to be most at risk from increased use of obesity drugs.
Is the food industry paying attention?
Charlebois suggested that the changing eating habits of Canadians on weight management drugs signal a need for the food industry, particularly those selling unhealthy products, to reconsider their manufacturing strategies.
In an interview with Bloomberg News in October 2023, Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner told the outlet that the massive retail chain has seen a shift in food-shopping demand from people taking Ozempic.
“We definitely do see a slight change compared to the total population, we do see a slight pullback in overall basket,” Furner said. “Just less units, slightly less calories.”
Because of this diet shift, he told Bloomberg that Walmart is studying changes in sales patterns by looking at anonymous shopper data and comparing the shopping habits of people who take drugs like Ozempic with those of people who don’t.
Charlebois said companies are starting to pay attention, but believes it remains a “taboo subject.”
“I think that manufacturers will have to really think differently about how they use sugar in particular in their products, because (a lot of) processed foods in Canada have added sugar,” he said. “And you have to think differently about the people you are serving.”
Another shift could be for food service providers to consider offering size-based portion prices or menus with health-related information that cater to individuals looking to reduce their caloric intake.
“Reliance on impulse buying in the food industry will likely be lessened as usage of GLP-1 receptor agonists grows. There is a clear demand for products with reduced sugar, lower calories, and less processing. The food industry could innovate by offering more healthy alternatives,” the report stated.
While the use of GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic remains relatively new and is steadily expanding, Charlebois suggested that we may be “at the beginning of a very interesting cycle.”
He also believes the food industry is “absolutely nervous about this.”
— with files from Global News’ Kathryn Mannie and Janet Cordahi
The Dalhousie University survey conducted in December 2023 had a total of 8,662 respondents. This number is both the weighted and unweighted total, indicating that each respondent was counted once in the analysis, and any adjustments made to ensure representativeness did not change the total count of respondents. The margin of error for the survey, assuming a 95 per cent confidence level, is approximately 1.84 per cent. This means that the results of the survey are expected to be within ±0.63 percentage points of what would have been obtained if the entire population had been surveyed, 95 times out of 100.