America's anti-obesity craze, fueled by GLP-1-based weight-loss drugs like Novo Nordisk A/S' Ozempic, originally a diabetes treatment, and Wegovy, along with Eli Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro and the newly approved weight-loss medication Zepbound, suggests that Americans who can afford these drugs at over $1,000 per month might have a reduced appetite this upcoming Thanksgiving.
Bloomberg showed GLP-1 drug prescriptions have erupted by 300% from 2020 to 2022, and this trend appears to be in the very early innings as the pharma-industrial complex is reaping the rewards of 'making America slim again.' These drugs send a signal to the brain to reduce food cravings - even tuning out food thoughts - allowing some folks to lose an astonishing 100 pounds in 15 months:
Thanksgiving this year will look very different for Julissa Alcantar-Martinez and her family.
The Houston-area realtor has been taking the appetite suppressing medication Mounjaro for one-and-a-half years following fifteen months on Ozempic. She has lost 115 pounds after years of struggles with dieting and diet-related disease. Her son, 17, has lost 65 pounds on Ozempic, and her 21-year-old daughter has lost 50 on it.
While the family is eating very differently now, they will still celebrate America's feasting day with the traditional turkey and fixings. As the host, Alcantar-Martinez says she'll still make the sweet potato and green bean casseroles, but she doesn't expect to eat much of them and will send the leftovers home with her parents. "Before, I might have kept some," she said. This year, "I'll keep the protein." -Bloomberg.
What's clear is that millions of Americans, like Martinez, will be altering their Thanksgiving food intake.
A recent Morgan Stanley report titled "Food Meets Pharma: Downsizing Demand: Obesity Medications' Impact on the Food Ecosystem" revealed that GLP-1-based weight-loss drugs can reduce daily calorie intake by 20-30%.
Several companies, such as Walmart, Kellanova, makers of Pringles and Cheez-Its, and others, have been concerned about the impact on dietary behaviors due to the weight-loss drugs.
Bloomberg spoke with Jamie Centner, a Louisiana middle school teacher who is taking a weight-loss drug, and said her mind is not focused on Thanksgiving.
"I don't think about food as much, things don't sound as good," Centner said, adding, "A lot less mental effort goes into tracking down all the best recipes."