Matter of taste How weight loss drugs alter perception of flavours as well as appetite

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 those who take them less hungry, but change what they want to eat.

- Anna Bawden Health and social affairs correspondent

So what do we know about how weight loss medications affect people’s relationship with food?

Reduced hunger

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 the hormone 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,” says 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.”

Studies also show they reduce the desire to drink alcohol.

Less appeal for unhealthy foods

Because GLP-1s reduce the “reward value” of fatty, sugary and salty food, as well as decrease appetite, many patients go off these foods, says Alexander Miras, a professor of endocrinology at Ulster University.