People on Obesity Drugs Don't Like Drinking as Much

Last month, a study suggested that people taking obesity drugs were less likely to be hospitalized for serious alcohol issues. Now, a new study may help explain why. Researchers say those taking drugs such as Wegovy, Mounjaro, and other GLP-1 medications appear to lose their taste for alcohol, reports NPR. The study in the journal JAMA Network Open surveyed more than 14,000 participants in WeightWatchers who were taking the newer drugs or older ones such as metformin, per Quartz. The vast majority of participants were women taking one of the newer drugs, per news-medical.net.

"The main finding is that approximately 50% of patients who consumed alcohol at baseline reported decreased alcohol use after initiating their anti-obesity medication," says study author Lisa Matero of Henry Ford Health. The reasons aren't crystal clear, but NPR talks to people who found that the alcohol seemed to hit them harder when they were on the medication. One woman says she felt dizzy and full after one drink. "The impact of the alcohol was more intense," she says, which made cutting back easy. Similarly, it's possible the drugs diminished the "rewarding effects" of alcohol or reduced cravings for it. (More anti obesity drugs stories.)