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A14 BUSINESS
Friday 26 april 2024

What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating

less and exercising more?

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO ment shakes and snacks
AP Business Writer sold at supermarkets, have
NEW YORK (AP) — Ever dropped as people turn to
since college, Brad Jobling weight loss drugs and re-
struggled with his weight, tailers cut shelf space for
fluctuating between a low diet products, the brand’s
of 155 pounds when he was parent company, Glanbia,
in his 30s to as high as 220. told investors in February.
He spent a decade track- Since the drugs suppress
ing calories on Weight- the appetites of people
Watchers, but the pounds taking them, Glanbia and
he dropped always crept other companies are mar-
back onto his 5-foot-5-inch keting their products as a
frame. source of adequate nutri-
A little over a year ago, the ents for people taking GLP-
58-year-old Manhattan resi- 1s. Swiss multinational Nes-
dent went on a new weight tle SA thinks it can benefit
loss drug called Wegovy. from the drugs’ popularity
He’s lost 30 pounds, and and is expanding its Lean
has started eating healthier Cuisine frozen meals and
food and exercising — the OPTIFAST protein shakes.
habits behind many com- “Diets are cool again,”
mercial diet plans and de- Slim Fast weight loss products are seen at a Kroger supermarket, Friday, April 12, 2024, in Marietta, Nestle SA CEO Ulf Mark
cades of conventional wis- Ga. Associated Press Schneider told analysts in
dom on sustainable weight February. “It’s something
loss. experts worry that busi- virtual clinics that provide tor Life Time launched a that people used to do qui-
Yet Jobling’s experience nesses without any exper- customized exercise and membership program last etly on the side, uncertain
also has altered his per- tise will start dispensing the nutrition plans, as well as year that offers compre- about their outcomes.”
spective on dieting. He now prescription medications prescription care, for indi- hensive medical testing, PROMISING RESULTS AND A
sees obesity as a disease along with bad advice and viduals who want to lose personalized training and WEALTH OF UNKNOWNS
that requires medical inter- unproven therapies. 20% of their body weight on a host of alternative thera- Research has shown that
vention, not just behavioral A DEMAND TOO BIG TO IG- average. pies like cryotherapy. Mem- about a third of people
changes. In fact, he thinks NORE “The weight loss space will bers of the Miora program lose 5% or more of their
he will need to stay on a At least 3 million prescrip- be led by the acknowl- also can get Ozempic and body weight with diet and
drug like Wegovy for the tions for the class of medi- edgement that weight loss other weight loss drugs exercise alone, according
rest of his life even though cations known as GLP-1 is a matter of health care,” through the medical staff to Dr. Louis Aronne, direc-
it has taken some of the joy agonists were issued each WeightWatchers CEO Sima of a clinic that opened in tor of the Comprehensive
out of eating. month in the U.S. during Sistani told analysts earlier Minneapolis last year. Weight Control Center
“I don’t see how you can the 12 months that ended this year. “This is a para- Jeff Zwiefel, executive di- at Weill Cornell Medical
maintain (the weight) with- in March, according to digm shift because weight rector of Life Time Miora, school. In comparison, the
out medication,” Jobling data from health technol- loss has been and, unfortu- called the new drugs a medicine in the diabe-
said. “Obviously, it’s all ogy company IQVIA. They nately, often still is viewed “game changer” for the fit- tes drug Mounjaro helped
about self-control. But I include semaglutide, the as a vanity issue.” ness industry. people with obesity or who
think it’s less of a struggle to drug in Ozempic and We- The Mayo Clinic, which first “We have an opportunity are overweight lose at least
really maintain healthy eat- govy, and tirzepatide, the offered a weight manage- and an obligation and a re- a quarter of their weight
ing when you got that as- drug in Mounjaro and Zep- ment plan in book form in sponsibility to help people when combined with re-
sistance.” bound. Morgan Stanley 1949, has published an up- achieve results in conjunc- stricted calories and exer-
Like the lives of the people research analysts have es- dated version of the long- tion with medical providers cise, a new study showed.
taking them, recent inject- timated that 24 million peo- time bestseller, titled “The and make sure that that’s But some experts worry
ed drugs like Wegovy and ple, or 7% of the U.S. popu- Mayo Clinic Diet: Weight- the way to go, “ he said. about businesses market-
its predecessor, the dia- lation, will be using GLPT-1 Loss Medications Edition.” Fitness chains are bank- ing the drugs or serving as
betes medication Ozem- drugs by 2035. The Mayo Clinic Diet pro- ing on the idea people on fitness coaches for patients
pic, are reshaping the U.S. The world’s leading diet gram also has expanded the drugs will lose enough on the medications. Dr.
health and fitness industries. programs have taken note to include access to weight weight to overcome any Cian Wade, a health care
They have proven success- of such statistics and incor- loss drugs and advice on self-consciousness or physi- consultant for the global
ful in eliminating unwanted porated the popular drugs managing any side ef- cal limits that kept them strategy and management
pounds more quickly and into their existing subscrip- fects, according to Digital from exercising. The gym firm Kearney, said he’s
easily than consuming few- tion plans. Wellness CEO Scott Penn, franchise Equinox started concerned about a prolif-
er and burning more calo- WeightWatchers, which whose company devel- a new personal training eration of clinics that don’t
ries alone. Such is their dis- was founded in 1963, last oped an online platform for program in January for pre- have as much experience
ruptive power that even es- year acquired telehealth the original program. scription-holders who want with obesity and related
tablished diet companies provider Sequence, en- The new drugs have made to preserve or build muscle health conditions. “There’s
like WeightWatchers and abling members to get being very overweight mass as they shed unwant- a potential worry that for
brands like Lean Cuisine prescriptions for weight “feel more medical as a ed pounds. some patients, (the clinics)
are getting makeovers. loss drugs. WeightWatch- condition,” he said. The world of drug-assisted will not have the right ex-
Although celebrities like ers is sticking with its focus GYMS AND DIET FOOD weight loss also is altering pertise at hand to be able
Oprah Winfrey have spo- on behavior change as COMPANIES LOOK TO MUS- the ambitions of food com- to appropriately manage
ken publicly of the drugs as the cornerstone of weight CLE IN panies. Sales of SlimFast, the side effects, nutrition-
revolutionary, some health reduction but launched Luxury athletic club opera- a line of meal replace- related issues,” he said.q