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Health Economics

Anti-obesity medication patients’ self-reported food savings versus the cost of such medicines

International Journal of Obesity volume 49, pages 532–535 (2025)Cite this article

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Anti-obesity medications (AOMs) have proven effective in achieving clinically significant weight loss in randomized trials, raising hopes that medication-based approaches can support progress towards obesity reduction goals [1]. These medications generally require continued use to maintain initial weight loss [2], raising the specter of financial burdens for patients even if their out-of-pocket costs can be lowered below retail prices through increased coverage by public and private insurers [3].

Obesity treatment can yield many health and economic benefits for patients [4]. However, the extant literature on the costs of obesity [5, 6] were less focused on the possible reduction in food costs experienced by individuals who are able to lose weight despite studies that document reductions in energy intake among patients on AOMs versus placebo [7,8,9] and reports of food retailers with lower food sales due to increased AOM sales [10]. Hence, beyond the scope of the healthcare sector, AOM may yield immediate and possibly long-term opportunities for patient savings through the purchase of less food and drink. Studies detailing how AOMs affect ingestive behavior and related impacts such as changes in household food spending are lacking, however [11].

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Fig. 1: Self-reported weekly savings ($) from reduced food and drink expenditures (all sources) due to use of GLP-1 antagonist.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks the study participants for their participation. The funder had no role in the survey’s design, implementation or analysis.

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  1. Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, Ohio State University, 2120 Fyffe Road, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Brian E. Roe

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Correspondence to Brian E. Roe.

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The author recognizes funding from the Van Buren Fund of the Ohio State University.

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Roe, B.E. Anti-obesity medication patients’ self-reported food savings versus the cost of such medicines. Int J Obes 49, 532–535 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-024-01708-y

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