Walmart: Weight-Loss Drugs Impact Food Sales; Exec Claims GLP-1 Agonist Users Purchase Less Food Products

(Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images) A sign hangs outside a Walmart store on January 11, 2018, in Chicago, Illinois. Walmart announced today it would use savings from the recently revised tax law to increase their starting wage to $11-per-hour, offer some hourly employees a one-time bonus of up to $1000.

Walmart claims that weight-loss drugs are impacting food sales. This was revealed by Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner during an interview on Wednesday, Oct. 5.

The Walmart executive said that people who are using weight-loss drugs tend to purchase fewer food products compared to other people.

Walmart Exec Claims Weight-Loss Drugs Impact Food Sales

According to NBC News' latest report, Walmart believes that consumers who are using weight-loss drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, are buying less food at the retailer's stores.

Forbes reported that Walmart discovered this after studying changes in sales patterns. The American e-commerce analyzed anonymized shopper data, which it compared to people who take weight-loss medicines.

However, Furner clarified that it is too soon to conclude that Ozempic, Wegovy, and other similar drugs are really linked to people's food purchases.

Weight-Loss Drugs Lead to Less Food Purchases?

Walmart: Weight-Loss Drugs Impact Food Sales; Exec Claims GLP-1 Agonist Users Purchase Less Food Products

(Photo: JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images) This photograph was taken on February 23, 2023, in Paris, and shows the anti-diabetic medication "Ozempic" (semaglutide) made by Danish pharmaceutical company "Novo Nordisk". - On TikTok, the hashtag "#Ozempic" has reached more than 500 million views: this anti-diabetic medication is trending on the social network for its' slimming properties.

John Furner said that they are seeing signs that people who regularly use GLP-1 agonist appetite suppressant medications tend to buy "less units, slightly less calories."

For those who are not familiar with it, GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) is a class of drugs that helps improve blood sugar control, allowing consumers to lose weight.

Semaglutide, which is sold under the brand names Ozempic (for Type 2 diabetes treatment), Wegovy (weight-loss drug), Mounjaro, and Victoza.

Semaglutide and other GLP-1 drugs are designed to mimic a hormone that signals the brain when the body is already full. Health experts said that these medicines prove their effectiveness by helping patients avoid craving food with high fat or sugar content.

Food Companies Could Be the Losers in Weight-Loss Drugs' Popularity

U.S.-based Trilliant Health said that prescriptions of weight-loss medications increased by fourfold from late 2020 until 2022.

The health research firm added that during the last three months of 2022, they recorded over 9 million prescriptions of these drugs.

Although this is good for regular consumers, the rising popularity of weight-loss drugs can drastically impact small and big businesses in the food industry, such as Walmart.

Some recent studies already showed that food chains and other similar companies could be the "losers" of the weight-loss drug boom.