Key takeaways:
- GLP-1 drugs are changing more than appetite, with growing evidence suggesting they may also weaken cravings, impulsive eating and reward-driven snacking behaviour.
- Consumers taking GLP-1s are buying differently, cutting back on discretionary snacks while increasing purchases of protein, fibre and satiety-focused products.
- The biggest threat to indulgence categories may not be reduced eating overall, but the decline of automatic, emotionally driven snacking habits that have shaped food consumption for decades.
Indulgence categories are never driven purely by hunger. They thrive on comfort, reward, nostalgia, ritual and the small emotional moments consumers attach to food throughout the day – the biscuit with coffee, the stress snack after work, the Friday-night takeaway or the dessert that marks celebration.
Now that emotional equation is beginning to change.
Patients taking blockbuster GLP-1s like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound increasingly describe dramatic reductions in cravings, compulsive eating and ‘food noise’ – the constant mental chatter around snacking and temptation.
Some say they finally feel calm around food for the first time in years. Others report a broader emotional dulling that social media has labelled ‘Ozempic personality’, describing lower impulsivity, muted excitement and less desire to chase the things they once found rewarding.
Health experts caution the phenomenon remains anecdotal and poorly understood. But the commercial implications are already attracting serious attention because GLP-1s appear to affect far more than appetite. Researchers increasingly believe they influence dopamine signalling, reward anticipation and reinforcement pathways – systems closely tied to cravings, emotional eating and habitual snacking.
That’s quickly pushing a once relatively niche psychiatric term into mainstream conversation.
Clinically, anhedonia refers to a reduced ability to experience pleasure or motivation from activities once found enjoyable. Traditionally associated with depression and mood disorders, researchers describe it as a disruption in reward processing, reinforcement behaviour and emotional responsiveness – areas of the brain now drawing increasing attention in GLP-1 research.
The concern isn’t necessarily that GLP-1 users are becoming emotionally numb. Many report improved wellbeing and confidence. However, the bigger question for food manufacturers is what happens to indulgence categories when consumers no longer respond to reward cues in the same way?
Food has always been tied to mood
Modern snacking culture runs heavily on emotion. Consumers reach for indulgent foods when they’re stressed, exhausted, anxious, bored or looking for comfort. Snacks often function as tiny emotional resets throughout the day – a chocolate bar after a difficult meeting, crisps during a late-night Netflix binge, bakery treats during moments of celebration or fatigue.
Research has repeatedly shown the connection between highly palatable foods and the brain’s reward system. Foods rich in sugar and fat stimulate dopamine and serotonin release, temporarily boosting mood and dampening stress responses. Studies examining comfort-food behaviour have linked indulgent eating with nostalgia, emotional regulation and feelings of social connection. Other observational research has associated long-term diets high in ultra-processed foods and refined sugars with increased risks of anxiety, stress and depression.
A study published this year in Food Quality and Preference found mood had a major influence on snacking behaviour. Participants experiencing sadness or stress were significantly more likely to consume indulgent snacks, particularly among restrained eaters and dieters.
None of this surprises the food industry. According to the 2024 State of Snacking report from Mondelez International, consumers increasingly use snacks as emotional support tools and affordable forms of self-care during periods of economic uncertainty. More than seven in 10 respondents globally agreed that sharing snacks is ‘a love language’.
GLP-1s, however, appear to be disrupting some of those emotional habits.
Researchers studying semaglutide-based medications have increasingly focused on their effects on compulsive behaviours and reward anticipation. Many patients describe suddenly losing interest in foods they previously found irresistible. Others report becoming less impulsive around shopping, alcohol or spending more broadly.
Survey data examining ‘food noise’ among GLP-1 users found many described a calmer, less emotionally charged relationship with eating, alongside reduced intrusive thoughts about food and cravings. Obesity medicine specialists are hearing similar patterns from some patients, particularly around reduced excitement and diminished reward-seeking behaviour more broadly.
Nobody yet knows whether these effects are temporary, dose-related or limited to a subset of users. But even the possibility of widespread behavioural change matters when so many indulgence categories rely on instinctive, reward-driven eating habits.
The next phase of the GLP-1 market could intensify those pressures even further.
Much of the food industry’s early response has centred on injectable drugs, which some consumers eventually stop taking because of cost, side effects or injection fatigue. But the arrival of oral GLP-1s – including Foundayo, Eli Lilly’s newly approved orforglipron pill, and oral versions of Wegovy from Novo Nordisk – could dramatically extend the lifespan of appetite suppression.
Research suggests oral GLP-1s may help consumers maintain weight loss for longer by making treatment easier, less disruptive and more sustainable day to day. Pills remove one of the biggest psychological barriers associated with injectables and are widely expected to accelerate long-term adoption once they become more commercially available over the next few years.
Smaller portions, weaker cravings and more restrained eating behaviours may no longer be short-term disruptions, but increasingly normalised patterns of consumption.
The impulse economy is wobbling
Food companies are already starting to see the commercial effects. According to Kantar, households with GLP-1 users are significantly reducing spending across several indulgence-heavy categories, including confectionery, frozen foods and takeaways. The market researcher estimates GLP-1-related behavioural changes have already contributed to a £136m decline in UK food and drink sales.
But lower spending is only part of the story. Consumers aren’t simply eating less; many appear to be becoming harder to tempt. Foods once bought automatically are facing a consumer who pauses longer, craves less frequently and thinks harder before indulging.
Research from Circana shows GLP-1 users are pulling back from discretionary snacking and impulse purchases. The firm predicts households with GLP-1 users could account for 35% of all food and beverage sales by 2030.
Other studies suggest the behavioural shift may be even more pronounced. Morgan Stanley research found 66% of GLP-1 users reduced snacking frequency from three or more snacks a day to two or fewer.
Yet the picture isn’t entirely negative for the food industry. Demand for products positioned around protein, functionality and fullness is climbing as consumers become more deliberate about what they eat and why they are eating it. Research from ADM found four in five GLP-1 users were willing to pay more for foods with added health benefits.
And manufacturers are responding: by increasing investment in protein, fibre and functional ingredients, exploring smaller portion formats and rethinking how indulgence is positioned in a market increasingly shaped by satiety, nutrition and intentional eating.
Restaurants are adapting, too. Operators across the US are rolling out lighter menus, protein-forward meals and smaller portions designed around fullness rather than excess.
Even so, the long-term picture remains uncertain.
Euromonitor International predicts semaglutide-based medications could reshape global food demand over the next decade as cheaper and more widely available versions enter the market. But major questions remain around long-term adherence, affordability, side effects and whether altered eating behaviours persist once consumers stop treatment.
And despite the anxiety surrounding GLP-1s, this isn’t simply a story about decline.
Earlier this year, Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Sprüngli said analysis using Circana data showed households taking GLP-1 drugs were actually increasing purchases of premium chocolate faster than non-users. CEO Adalbert Lechner suggested consumers were embracing a ‘less is more’ mindset – eating smaller amounts while choosing products perceived as more satisfying and worth the indulgence.
The pressure point for food manufacturers may not be indulgence itself, but low-quality, automatic indulgence – the mindless snacking habits that once drove huge volumes across confectionery, bakery and savoury snacks.
Indulgence is becoming more intentional
In the GLP-1 era, every bite suddenly has to justify itself. Manufacturers need to accelerate investment into products that combine pleasure with functionality – think protein-enriched bakery, fibre-rich snacks, gut-health positioning and portion-controlled treats designed to deliver greater satisfaction with less quantity.
But the bigger issue for food brands isn’t simply smaller appetites. It’s the weakening of automatic indulgence.
For decades, many indulgence categories benefited from instinctive behaviour. GLP-1s appear to be creating a consumer who pauses longer before indulging and increasingly questions whether a product actually feels worth it.
That doesn’t mean consumers will stop seeking comfort, pleasure or emotional connection through food. But it may mean the era of automatic dopamine snacking is beginning to fade.
Studies:
Serretti A. Anhedonia and Depressive Disorders. Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2023 Aug 31;21(3):401-409. doi: 10.9758/cpn.23.1086. PMID: 37424409; PMCID: PMC10335915.
Dana M. Small and Alexandra G. DiFeliceantonio. Processed foods and food reward. Processed foods compromise the fidelity of gut-brain signaling of food reinforcement. Science, 25 Jan 2019, Vol 363, Issue 6425, pp. 346-347, DOI: 10.1126/science.aav0556
Rogers, N., Creech, D., Eckhardt, S., Hanley, et al. (2025). Why does comfort food comfort? A qualitative inquiry. Food and Foodways, 33(3), 244-262. https://doi.org/10.1080/07409710.2025.2523631
Jafari, A., Momenan, M., Tehrani, A.N. et al. Association between ultra-processed food consumption and odds of depression, stress, and anxiety in adolescent girls: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health 26, 457 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-26167-6
Ana Cláudia Morito Neves, Maria Luiza das Dores Rocha, et al. Motives and values that guide food choices: Implications of food craving among Brazilian university graduates (the CUME+ study), Food Quality and Preference, Volume 142, 2026, 105924, ISSN 0950-3293, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2026.105924.
Nasrollahizadeh, A., Kheiri, G., Javankiani, S. et al. Repurposing GLP-1 receptor agonists for alcohol use disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetol Metab Syndr 18, 29 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13098-025-02006-x
Aronne, L.J., Horn, D.B., le Roux, C.W. et al. Orforglipron for maintenance of body weight reduction: the double-blind, randomized phase 3b ATTAIN-MAINTAIN trial. Nat Med (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04386-7
