A new study suggests that Wegovy, the weight-loss drug produced by Novo Nordisk, may do more than help with weight loss: it could significantly reduce obsessive, intrusive thoughts about food. The findings were presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes meeting in Vienna.
Researchers surveyed 550 people in the US who were taking semaglutide (brand name Wegovy) primarily for weight loss. Most participants (81%) had been on the drug for at least four months. The survey asked about “food noise,” a term used to describe constant or intrusive thoughts about food, both before starting treatment and while using the drug.
The proportion of people experiencing constant thoughts about food throughout the day dropped sharply from 62% before treatment to 16% while taking Wegovy. Those who felt they “spent too much time thinking about food” fell from 63% to 15%.
Uncontrollable food thoughts dropped from 53% to 15%. Negative effects of these food-related thoughts (on well-being, daily life) declined: 60% had reported negative effects before treatment; that fell to 20% under Wegovy.
Distraction by food thoughts (i.e., being unable to focus on daily tasks) went from 47% before treatment to 15% after treatment. Beyond changes in food-related thoughts, many participants also reported improvements in wider mental health measures: self-confidence, general mental well-being, and adoption of healthier habits.
The research suggests that Wegovy may help quiet the mental burden many people with obesity or overweight experience in the form of intrusive thoughts about food. As one of the study authors, Dr Filip Knop (still in a senior role at Novo Nordisk), put it, “in addition to weight loss, Wegovy may help quiet disruptive thoughts about food, support improved mental well-being, and help enable people to live healthier lives.”
These effects may have important implications: such thoughts can reduce quality of life, undermine weight-management efforts, and make it harder to stick to healthy behaviours. Reducing “food noise” might therefore help people better maintain lifestyle changes alongside the medication.
The study is based on self-reported survey data, meaning it relies on participants’ own recall and perception of their thoughts and experiences. It is not yet clear whether the improvements in mental well-being and confidence are directly caused by reductions in intrusive food-related thoughts or whether they stem from other effects of the drug, such as weight loss itself.
The study sample was US-based and may not represent experiences. Differences in healthcare systems, prescribing practices, social attitudes, or access could affect outcomes in other countries. Wegovy is the brand name for semaglutide when used for weight loss. It belongs to a class of medications known as GLP-1 agonists.
Originally developed for diabetes care, GLP-1 agonists have increasingly been used (with regulatory approval or via private provision) to help people with obesity or high body mass index (BMI) lose weight.
These medications have drawn attention not only for their effects on physical health, including reduced appetite, lower body weight, and improvements in glucose control, but also for psychological or behavioural effects, such as reduced cravings or less preoccupation with food. The new survey adds evidence that such effects might extend to reducing intrusive or obsessive food-related thoughts.
If similar results are confirmed in populations, Wegovy may offer an additional psychological benefit that could help in long-term weight management. For doctors, the findings may justify discussing these possible benefits with patients, not only focusing on kilos lost but also on improvements in quality of life.
However, more rigorous research, ideally randomised controlled trials that measure mental health outcomes, cognitive/emotional burden, and quality of life over time, will be needed before doctors can confidently say how much of the quality-of-life improvement comes from the “quieting” of food thoughts rather than weight loss per se.
