From reduced hunger to a changing palate, weight loss jabs can alter our experience and enjoyment of food
The revelation that the chef Heston Blumenthal has created a tasting menu for people on weight loss jabs may have raised eyebrows, but there is scientific evidence that drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro not only make you less hungry, but change what you want to eat.
So what do we know about how weight loss medications affect your relationship with food?
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists such as semaglutide (Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) have been shown to help people living with obesity lose weight. By mimicking the action of a hormone called GLP-1, they reduce appetite and feelings of hunger, slow the release of food from the stomach and increase feelings of fullness after eating.
“It works by slowing how much food leaves the stomach – making a person feel fuller – and also stops another hormone from the pancreas releasing more sugar from the liver,” said Dr Simon Dryden, the head of biosciences at London Metropolitan University. “It also increases the amount of insulin a person produces which helps reduce blood sugar in a person with type 2 diabetes and more carbohydrate gets into body organs.”
