Foodservice businesses may need to start thinking in strategic ways about how to cater to both normal and medically-suppressed appetites. So reported Footprint recently in a piece about the impact of appetite-suppressing drugs on hospitality and foodservice.
This week, the FT picked up the baton, with a piece headlined: ‘Are weight loss drugs killing off the business lunch?’
As the paper reported, medicines such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, which are available privately in the US, UK and many other countries, help people lose weight by reducing hunger. In the UK, clinical research provider Iqvia estimated 1.4m people had purchased the medication by April.
This means potentially healthier, happier people. However, by suppressing appetite, the trend brings what the FT called a “new threat to the already endangered art of the business lunch”.
“Restaurateurs are noticing changes – such as fewer orders for starters and puddings, and more unfinished plates – that they believe are at least partly fuelled by the increased use of weight loss drugs,” the article reads. “But many are optimistic that even if people might want to eat less, their desire to talk and do business in a more social environment outside the office remains.”
The impact of weight-loss drugs on food waste is certainly something to watch closely.
One 2024 study in the US found 25% of respondents agree they waste more food since beginning the medication, while 61% disagree. Respondents were “significantly less likely” to agree with this statement if they had been on the medication a longer time and were “significantly more likely” to agree if they reported experiencing nausea since beginning the medication.
So, in time, food waste could be reduced. Writing in the journal Nutrients the researchers, from Purdue University and Ohio State University in the US, concluded: “Uptake of a novel class of anti-obesity medications may significantly affect food waste patterns. With the potential for widespread adoption of such medications, and given the societal import of reducing food waste, understanding the interaction of these two consumer trends is critical for projecting their joint impact on the food system and for equipping new GLP1A users to limit food waste,” they explained.
Dana Gunders, president at US food waste nonprofit ReFED, told AgFunderNews earlier this year that: “As it stands right now, to the extent GLP-1 users are dining out, it’s probably creating more waste.”
However, this could in time create opportunities for restaurants, Gunders explained. “GLP-1s are adding to a market segment of people with smaller appetites, which I don’t think restaurants are serving very well right now,” she said. “By expanding that market segment they could essentially create more demand for smaller offerings.”
ReFED’s 2025 report on food waste in the US showed surplus food waste in the country rising, but noted that again weight-loss drugs may help in reducing this.
The report reads: “Produce represents the largest food category that is wasted, much of this is never being harvested, but a good amount is also spoiling in homes. Prepared foods are the second highest category, primarily driven by restaurant plate waste. Both of these areas could see movement in the near future, driven by the new interest in smaller portions and fresher foods from the growing segment of US adults using GLP-1 drugs, such as Ozempic, for weight loss.”
