Five ways weight-loss jabs are changing spending habits

These are injections that help some people lose weight, but weight-loss drugs are also transforming the way people spend.

Around 1.6 million people in the UK will have used weight-loss vaccines in 2024, the latest study from University College London suggests, with millions more saying they are interested in trying them.

For those paying privately, they can cost over £300 a month – but as their popularity only increases, how are businesses adapting to a new type of consumer?

Weight loss injections work by mimicking a natural hormone, GLP-1, which regulates hunger, and those who use them find that their appetite is reduced.

“My weekly food shop has really gone down,” says Sam Gillson, 38, from Shropshire, who contacted BBC Your Voice. He has lost more than four stone through weight loss programs since June.

“I’m definitely buying more fresh foods and fewer options for prepared meals or unhealthy easy dinners like pizza, chips and nuggets.”

In recent weeks, supermarkets The Co-op, Morrisons and Marks and Spencer have launched ranges of nutrient-rich ready meals, and Ocado is now selling a 100g steak, which it says responds to the growing number of customers looking for smaller portions.

Sam says eating less means he wants to make sure “the smallest amount contains all the nutrients and vitamins you need.”

And it’s not just about portion size. This is also the type of food.

Products rich in protein are appearing on the shelves in the form of smoothies and snacks.

Jonny Forsyth, food and drink strategist at consumer research group Mintel, says many of these trends are part of a wider shift, with health becoming increasingly important, particularly for younger consumers.

He believes GLP-1 drugs are “changing the culture,” making it fashionable to eat more nutrient-dense foods and “adding oxygen to existing trends.”

A survey last year by consultancy KAM Insight found that almost a third of people using GLP-1 drugs were going out to eat and drink less often.

Annie Haslam, 70, from Cornwall, has been using weight loss injections since March last year and currently spends around £186 a month on vaccines.

“Instead of eating takeout once or twice a month, I haven’t had one in months,” she says. “I used to eat out maybe once a week, I don’t do that anymore.”

Sam also says he’s cut down on takeaways, but adds that while he feels healthier, he’s not saving money given the cost of the injections themselves.

Earlier this month, the boss of bakery chain Greggs said there was “no doubt” that weight loss drugs had led people to seek out “smaller portions”.

And this also happens in gastronomy. Michelin-starred restaurant The Fat Duck in Berkshire, run by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal, has released a new menu which Blumenthal says is aimed at people looking to eat in a more “mindful” way, including those taking appetite suppressants.

There is also evidence that those who take weight loss medications drink less alcohol.

A February 2025 study by consumer research firm Worldpanel by Numerator found a 15 percentage point decline in alcohol purchase volume among households with GLP-1 users compared to a controlled baseline.

The Co-Op’s food trade director, Nicole Tallant, told the BBC that supermarket members who take weight loss drugs are “reducing their alcohol consumption alongside their food consumption”, adding that “they are much more concerned about overall health and holistic wellbeing”.

Recent years have also seen an increase in non-alcoholic beverage options on shelves and bars. The British Beer and Pub Association expects a record 200 million pints of low or no alcohol beer to be consumed in 2025.

“There is already a pretty strong trend towards sobriety,” says Jonny Forsyth of Mintel.

“If I were an alcohol company, this would worry me a little. GLP-1 drugs could give new impetus to this trend.”

For Annie, one of the areas she couldn’t avoid spending money on was clothing. After going from a size 18 to a size 12, she says her old clothes were “literally falling off.”

She estimates that replacing everything, including the underwear, probably cost her “a few thousand pounds”.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, says that while none of the major listed fashion retailers have explicitly mentioned weight-loss drugs in their comments on financial results, in his view the direction is clear.

The popularity of weight loss drugs will provide “a huge boost to the fashion industry”, he says.

While it’s unclear how this will look, Coatsworth believes that second-hand platforms like Vinted, which are already popular, could see even greater growth, for people who discover quite quickly that their wardrobe no longer suits them.

People who have lost a lot of weight quickly may also find a new sense of confidence and be inspired to “reinvent” themselves by trying new clothes they wouldn’t have had before, says Simone Konu-Rae, a lecturer in fashion communications at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.

“If you were a larger size, you might not have felt like any of these trends or fashion stores were speaking to you,” she says. “So you might shop completely differently.”

This desire to change your look is also felt in the beauty and fitness sector.

Last year, the survey by market research firm Worldpanel and Numerator suggested increased spending on healthcare, toiletries and supplements among people taking weight-loss injections.

Some companies – in the US and now the UK too – that offer wellness retreats are now advertising specific “retreats” targeting GLP-1 users.

Will Orr, managing director of The Gym Group, says weight loss drugs are leading to increased demand for fitness services as people taking them seek to maintain their weight and build muscle mass.

“We have started training our trainers on how to best support members in these treatments,” he says.

But he also notes a broader pattern of behavior, predating weight-loss drugs, calling health, fitness and wellness “major trends that aren’t going anywhere.”

This view is shared by Georgia Stafford, research analyst in Mintel’s beauty and personal care team, who says that while GLP-1 is “definitely something on most brands’ radars”, unlike the food industry, beauty brands are yet to launch products in the UK aimed specifically at users of weight loss drugs.

“There have been a few launches in the United States,” she says, “but they are very specialized and very expensive,” pointing out that the cost of weight-loss drugs may also prompt people to cut back on spending in other areas.

Instead, she says many of the products on offer promising plumper skin and fuller hair, often marketed as anti-aging, will already be aligned with what might appeal to people taking weight-loss drugs.

Meanwhile, data from the British Association of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgeons shows there was an 8% increase in demand for facelifts in 2024, with the group’s president saying this was “an extension of a pattern we have always seen in patients who have lost weight” and which was “now amplified by the wider use of these drugs”.

Additional reporting by Emer Moreau and Kris Bramwell