Healthier food shopping habits after GLP-1 start

There are signs patients are making healthier food choices at the supermarket after beginning glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) treatment, with a study observing positive changes across most nutrient categories.
 
The Danish research used data from 1177 participants’ shopping receipts, 293 of which had started a course of GLP-1 RAs during the study period.
 
More than 80,000 receipts were examined prior to initiating treatment, and more than 1.1 million after.
 
Results showed that after the first prescription, patients purchased food items with lower calories, less sugar, less saturated fat and fewer carbohydrates along with increased protein when compared to non-GLP-1 RA users.
 
There was also an observed shift away from ultra-processed foods towards unprocessed options.
 
‘Although modest at the individual level, these changes may accumulate at the population level, particularly given increasing GLP-1 RA use,’ the authors wrote.
 
GP, dietitian and Chair of RACGP Specific Interests Obesity Management, Dr Terri-Lynne South, said while the results are interesting, it is unclear what aspect of treatment was causing the improvement given the study is observational.
 
‘Is this potentially the medication itself, or is it also any wraparound care that’s happening at the same time? I think the results are positive, but I do wonder, is it one or the other, or both?’ she told newsGP.
 
‘If people already have the knowledge, the health literacy, then being on an appropriate GLP-1 as part of a broader management of their health can help with behaviour change, but we need to be very mindful about which individuals we might think this is applicable for.’
 
Currently, more than 400,000 Australians use GLP-1 RAs and pay up to $5000 a year for their treatment, Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler recently stated. However, this is set to change for some patients.
 
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee has recommended to the Minister that GLP-1 RA drug semaglutide (sold as Wegovy) be listed for patients with obesity who have ‘already experienced a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack, stroke or have symptomatic peripheral arterial disease’.
 
Minister Butler has committed to work with Wegovy’s manufacturer to add the weight-loss medication to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
 
According to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, medicines in the GLP-1 RA class currently marketed in Australia are:
 

• Ozempic (semaglutide)
• Wegovy (semaglutide)
• Saxenda (liraglutide)
• Trulicity (dulaglutide)
• Mounjaro (tirzepatide).

GLP-1 GLP-1 RA obesity Ozempic PBS Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme semaglutide Wegovy weight loss