Ohio State researchers found that 25% of respondents who used anti-obesity medication agreed they have wasted more food since beginning. “Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro, which also treat diabetes, may help users battling drug and alcohol abuse as well.” Credit: Marc Bruxelle/Dreamstime via TNS
As anti-obesity medications gain popularity, a new concern has also gained traction among researchers: increased food waste.
A self-administered online survey sponsored by Ohio State found that 25% of respondents using Glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists — such as Ozempic and Wegovy — agree they have wasted more food since starting anti-obesity medications, said Brian Roe, a senior researcher and professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics.
According to the National Institutes of Health, GLP-1As are a class of medications used to treat obesity by controlling blood sugar and managing metabolism.
“We still estimate that about a third of all food is wasted,” Roe said. “And then, obviously, these medications are becoming intensely popular, with over 12% of the population having tried the medication at least once, and probably at least 6% of the people currently with a prescription and taking the medication.”
Still, 61% of respondents disagreed with this correlation, suggesting that food waste isn’t an issue expressly tied to these medications, Roe said.
According to the study, individuals who experienced nausea while taking the medication were more likely to report an increase in food waste, as well as those who used the medication for less than 90 days.
Conversely, respondents who reported using the medication for more than 90 days or who did not experience nausea tended to be among the group who disagreed, Roe said.
The study’s dependent variable was the respondent’s level of agreement, which was determined using a five-point scale to assess the statement, “Since beginning this medication I have found I waste more of the food that I purchase.” Independent variables included reported side effects since beginning GLP-1As — like nausea and vomiting — dietary changes and/or adherences to particular diets.
Jamil Mansouri, the study’s premier researcher and a Purdue University agricultural economics student, collaborated with Roe on the study through the Big Ten Academic Alliance Summer Research Opportunities Program.
He said because the survey was demographically based, it also gathered information on respondents’ sexes, genders, ages, income levels, weights, heights, durations of medication use and diets.
“Our first kind of significant finding, which makes a lot of sense, is a lot of the increases in food waste were from people that had been on the medication not very long,” Mansouri said, “so that 90 day group to the first six month group.”
Roe said the increase in food waste for individuals who experienced nausea and were on the medication for less than 90 days is often caused by changes in eating habits that occur when starting GLP-1As.
“Perhaps people are wasting food because they haven’t fully, kind of, adjusted to the new patterns that the medication creates in their food environment,” Roe said.
Understanding the interaction between two major shifting factors — food waste and the use of anti-obesity medications — is ultimately key to determining whether these medications exacerbate or mitigate food waste, Roe said.
“Even if you are wasting the same fraction of your food, you may be buying less food, so the overall quantity of food wasted might go down,” Roe said.
Mansouri said as anti-obesity medications grow more popular in the mainstream, it’s crucial that medical providers and patients discuss changes in eating habits and food consumption when first starting GLP1-As.
“This survey, it’s not definitive,” Mansouri said. “However, from what we found, I would say is, and the most practical thing you could do is — as a medical provider — come in and say when starting these medications, ‘Hey, there’s going to be some shifts to your diet and your consumption, and be aware of those when going into this.’”
These open discussions could not only save patients money by helping them adjust their grocery purchases, but can also reduce food waste throughout the country, Mansouri said.
