Medications used for weight loss such as Ozempic may be stirring up the food industry, with a recent report revealing that Canadians on certain drugs are tightening their belts on restaurant outings, snack indulgences and drinking alcohol.
A report published Tuesday by Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab in Halifax estimates that between 900,000 and 1.4 million Canadians use GLP-1 receptor agonists. These are a group of drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes and are often used to combat obesity. They trigger insulin release, reduce glucose production in your liver and make you feel full. Examples of these drugs include Ozempic, Wegovy and Saxenda.
Over the past few years, there has been a huge boom in the popularity of Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, a Type 2 diabetes drug that is also known for its off-label use for weight loss. The demand for Ozempic and its sister drug Wegovy is so high that it has also led to shortages in …