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The Guardian World1 min read
Weight-loss drug users save over £400 a year on grocery bills as take-up triples
TL;DR
Weight-loss drug users save over £400 annually on grocery bills, with GLP-1 usage tripling to 1.9 million adults in Great Britain. Households with GLP-1 users spent £780 million less on groceries than expected in the past year.
Key points
- Weight-loss drug users save over £400 annually on groceries
- GLP-1 usage has tripled to 1.9 million adults in Great Britain
- Households with GLP-1 users spent £780 million less on groceries
- 6.3% of households in Great Britain include a GLP-1 user
- Grocery packs bought declined by 299 million in February
Weight-loss drugs are saving users’ households more than £400 a year on grocery bills, according to new research, which found use of GLP-1s has nearly tripled in the past two years to 1.9 million adults.
Just more than 6.3% of households in Great Britain now include at least one GLP-1 user, according to the survey from Worldpanel by Numerator. This marks a sharp rise from 4.1% of households in 2025 and 2.3% in 2024.
The research showed that in the year after starting taking the drugs, households with at least one GLP‑1 user spent £780m less on groceries than expected compared with similar households.
The increase in use of drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy is also having a significant impact on grocery spending, according to a survey of more than 11,600 households, as GLP-1 users buy less food at the supermarket.
Grocery spend by households that include a weight-loss jab user has declined by £780m, with 299m fewer grocery packs bought during February, when the analysis took place. This equates to a £418 drop in grocery spending for user households compared with non-user ones.
More than half (52%) of GLP-1 users described their approach to eating as “mindful”, meaning that their food consumption was guided by hunger, rather than being linked to habit, routine or restriction.
More than half (54%) of weight-loss jab users reported that they experienced fewer cravings and less “food noise”, while one in 10 (11%) users said they no longer enjoyed their usual favourite foods or drinks.
Just more than 6.3% of households in Great Britain include a user of GLP-1 drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, the survey found. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA
GLP-1 users said they were cutting back on treats: three-quarters (75%) reported eating less chocolate and a similar number (72%) reduced their consumption of crisps. The survey found this claim was supported by their shopping habits, as chocolate confectionery spend fell by 18 percentage points more in GLP-1 user households compared with non-user households.
The change in eating habits among GLP-1 users was not just confined to the home. Two-fifths (40%) of people taking weight-loss drugs said they wanted to see smaller portion sizes on restaurant menus, while more than a quarter (26%) requested a GLP-1-friendly section of the menu to choose from when eating out.
Q&A
How much do weight-loss drug users save on grocery bills annually?
Weight-loss drug users save over £400 a year on grocery bills.
What is the current number of GLP-1 users in Great Britain?
There are currently 1.9 million GLP-1 users in Great Britain.
By how much has grocery spending declined for households with GLP-1 users?
Households with GLP-1 users have spent £780 million less on groceries than expected.
What percentage of households in Great Britain include a GLP-1 user?
Just over 6.3% of households in Great Britain now include at least one GLP-1 user.
