Emotional eating may blunt Ozempic-type drugs' effectiveness, study finds
Japanese study links eating behaviors to differing responses to GLP-1 medications used for diabetes and weight loss
A new study from Japan finds that emotional eating may blunt the weight loss and metabolic benefits of GLP-1 receptor agonists such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro. Researchers tracked 92 adults with type 2 diabetes over a year as they took these medications.
Participants were treated with one of four GLP-1 therapies: about 40% received oral semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy), 32% received injectable semaglutide, 12% dulaglutide, and 8% liraglutide.
Researchers measured weight, BMI, waist circumference, fasting glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, fat stores, and collected eating-behavior data at baseline, three months and 12 months, classifying participants into emotional, external or restrained eaters based on questionnaires.
At the three-month mark, participants generally showed increased restrained eating and fewer emotional or external eating behaviors. By the 12-month mark, restrained and emotional eating had returned to baseline, while external eating continued to decrease.
"Pre-treatment assessment of eating behavior patterns may help predict who will benefit most from GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy," said Professor Daisuke Yabe, senior study author and professor of medicine at Kyoto University. “GLP-1 receptor agonists are effective for individuals who experience weight gain or elevated blood glucose levels due to overeating triggered by external stimuli. However, their effectiveness is less expected in cases where emotional eating is the primary cause.”
Co-author Dr Takehiro Kato, of Gifu University, added that emotional eating may be more influenced by psychological factors not directly addressed by GLP-1 therapy, and that individuals with prominent emotional eating tendencies may require additional behavioral or psychological support.
The study, published Tuesday in Frontiers in Clinical Diabetes and Healthcare, notes several limitations, including a small sample size and the observational design that shows associations rather than causation. The researchers emphasized that larger, randomized trials are needed before results can be applied clinically. Still, they suggest that if future work confirms the link, simple behavioral assessments could become part of optimizing GLP-1–based treatment plans.
The findings come as about one in eight US adults has reported taking Ozempic or similar medications for diabetes or weight loss. Previous research estimates about one in five Americans report emotionally eating often or very often due to stress or other negative emotions.