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https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2025/12...ricans-buy
PRESS RELEASE: When Americans begin taking appetite-suppressing drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, the changes extend well beyond the bathroom scale. According to new Cornell University research, the medications are associated with meaningful reductions in how much households spend on food, both at the grocery store and at restaurants.
The study, published in the Journal of Marketing Research, links survey data on GLP-1 receptor agonist use – a class of drugs originally developed for diabetes and now widely prescribed for weight loss – with detailed transaction records from tens of thousands of U.S. households. The result is one of the most comprehensive looks yet at how GLP-1 adoption is associated with changes in everyday food purchasing in the real world.
The headline finding is striking: Within six months of starting a GLP-1 medication, households reduce grocery spending by an average of 5.3%. Among higher-income households, the drop is even steeper, at more than 8%. Spending at fast-food restaurants, coffee shops and other limited-service eateries falls by about 8%.
Among households who continue using the medication, lower food spending persists at least a year, though the magnitude of the reduction becomes smaller over time, says Sylvia Hristakeva, assistant professor of marketing.
“The data show clear changes in food spending following adoption,” Hristakeva said. “After discontinuation, the effects become smaller and harder to distinguish from pre-adoption spending patterns.”
Unlike previous studies that relied on self-reported eating habits, the new analysis draws on purchase data collected by Numerator, a market research firm that tracks grocery and restaurant transactions for a nationally representative panel of about 150,000 households. The researchers matched those records with repeated surveys asking whether household members were taking GLP-1 drugs, when they started and why.
That combination allowed the team to compare adopters with similar households that did not use the drugs, isolating changes that occurred after medication began. The reductions were not evenly distributed across the grocery store.
Ultra-processed, calorie-dense foods – the kinds most closely associated with cravings – saw the sharpest declines. Spending on savory snacks dropped by about 10%, with similarly large decreases in sweets, baked goods and cookies. Even staples like bread, meat and eggs declined.
Only a handful of categories showed increases. Yogurt rose the most, followed by fresh fruit, nutrition bars and meat snacks. “The main pattern is a reduction in overall food purchases. Only a small number of categories show increases, and those increases are modest relative to the overall decline,” Hristakeva said.
The effects extended beyond the supermarket. Spending at limited-service restaurants such as fast-food chains and coffee shops fell sharply as well. For food manufacturers, restaurants and retailers, widespread GLP-1 adoption could mean long-term shifts in demand, particularly for snack foods and fast food. Package sizes, product formulations and marketing strategies may need to change.
For policymakers and public-health experts, the results add context to ongoing debates about the role of medical treatments in shaping dietary behavior – and whether biologically driven appetite changes succeed where taxes and labels have struggled.
PRESS RELEASE: When Americans begin taking appetite-suppressing drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, the changes extend well beyond the bathroom scale. According to new Cornell University research, the medications are associated with meaningful reductions in how much households spend on food, both at the grocery store and at restaurants.
The study, published in the Journal of Marketing Research, links survey data on GLP-1 receptor agonist use – a class of drugs originally developed for diabetes and now widely prescribed for weight loss – with detailed transaction records from tens of thousands of U.S. households. The result is one of the most comprehensive looks yet at how GLP-1 adoption is associated with changes in everyday food purchasing in the real world.
The headline finding is striking: Within six months of starting a GLP-1 medication, households reduce grocery spending by an average of 5.3%. Among higher-income households, the drop is even steeper, at more than 8%. Spending at fast-food restaurants, coffee shops and other limited-service eateries falls by about 8%.
Among households who continue using the medication, lower food spending persists at least a year, though the magnitude of the reduction becomes smaller over time, says Sylvia Hristakeva, assistant professor of marketing.
“The data show clear changes in food spending following adoption,” Hristakeva said. “After discontinuation, the effects become smaller and harder to distinguish from pre-adoption spending patterns.”
Unlike previous studies that relied on self-reported eating habits, the new analysis draws on purchase data collected by Numerator, a market research firm that tracks grocery and restaurant transactions for a nationally representative panel of about 150,000 households. The researchers matched those records with repeated surveys asking whether household members were taking GLP-1 drugs, when they started and why.
That combination allowed the team to compare adopters with similar households that did not use the drugs, isolating changes that occurred after medication began. The reductions were not evenly distributed across the grocery store.
Ultra-processed, calorie-dense foods – the kinds most closely associated with cravings – saw the sharpest declines. Spending on savory snacks dropped by about 10%, with similarly large decreases in sweets, baked goods and cookies. Even staples like bread, meat and eggs declined.
Only a handful of categories showed increases. Yogurt rose the most, followed by fresh fruit, nutrition bars and meat snacks. “The main pattern is a reduction in overall food purchases. Only a small number of categories show increases, and those increases are modest relative to the overall decline,” Hristakeva said.
The effects extended beyond the supermarket. Spending at limited-service restaurants such as fast-food chains and coffee shops fell sharply as well. For food manufacturers, restaurants and retailers, widespread GLP-1 adoption could mean long-term shifts in demand, particularly for snack foods and fast food. Package sizes, product formulations and marketing strategies may need to change.
For policymakers and public-health experts, the results add context to ongoing debates about the role of medical treatments in shaping dietary behavior – and whether biologically driven appetite changes succeed where taxes and labels have struggled.