Individuals taking semaglutide for weight loss experience less food noise than before

New research being presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria (15-19 September) shows that individuals who are taking semaglutide for weight loss experience less food noise than before.

Food noise refers to obsessive and intrusive thoughts about food and eating. This preoccupation with food can hinder healthy lifestyle implementation and lead to overeating, making weight loss difficult.

Previous research has found that 57% of people who have living with overweight or obesity have experienced food noise, although few are familiar with the term. Many of those affected said that food noise made it more difficult to make healthy food choices or stick to an exercise plan.

Some people also report that food noise affects their quality of life and their wellbeing.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists such as semaglutide (brand names Wegovy and Ozempic) are highly effective at helping people who are living with obesity lose weight. By mimicking the action of a hormone called GLP-1, they reduce appetite and feelings of hunger, slow the release of food from the stomach and increase feelings of fullness after eating.

However, little is known about how semaglutide, which was developed by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk A/S, affects food noise.

To find out more, researchers from Novo Nordisk and Market Track LLC, a market research company, conducted a survey of 550 people in the US (average age 53 years, 86% female) who were taking semaglutide for weight loss.

Some 81% (447) of the participants said they had been taking semaglutide for at least four months and 86% of the participants reported weighing at least 92kg (14st 7lb) before starting treatment.

The participants were asked how food noise was currently affecting them and to recall how it had affected them before starting treatment.

Analysis of the results showed that the participants were experiencing less food noise than before.

The proportion of participants experiencing constant thoughts about food throughout the day fell almost four-fold from 62% before starting treatment to 16%. The proportion who said they spent too much time thinking about food fell by a similar amount, from 63% to 15%. 

The proportion who said they had uncontrollable thoughts about food fell more than three-fold from 53% to 15%; the proportion who said their thoughts about food had negative effects on them or their life fell from 60% to 20%; and the proportion who said their thoughts about food distracted them from completing everyday activities fell from 47% to 15%.

The survey also contained questions that covered several areas of mental wellbeing.

Here, 352 (64%), 417 (76%) and 438 (80%) of the respondents reported an improvement in mental health, self-confidence and the development of healthier habits, respectively.

It is not known if these improvements were related to the drop in food noise or to the participants' weight loss.

The study's authors conclude that semaglutide may reduce the amount of food noise that is experienced by individuals who are living with obesity.