The Food Professor says GLP-1s, which are drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy, are quietly transforming food demand across the country.

On the social media platform “X” Sylvain Charlebois, Professor and Director at Dalhousie’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, says they conducted a survey of more than 8,000 Canadians showing nearly 1 in 5 households now report using (or possibly using) GLP-1s and isn’t a trend but a structural shift in how Canadians eat and shop.

The survey determined only 46.5 per cent use the drugs solely for Type 2 diabetes while 35 per cent say they use them for weight loss alone.

He suggests weight management is “being medicalized at scale and it’s reshaping behaviour”.

Their new data indicates that 51.8 per cent report weight loss, 51.4 per cent say they eat less, 27 per cent go to restaurants less and almost a quarter drink less alcohol.

As well, 18.8 per cent are buying fewer groceries overall, 14.6 per cent buy less fresh meat and 12.1 per cent buying fewer fruits and vegetables.