Ozempic menus: how weight-loss jabs are changing restaurants
Reduced appetites mean a shift towards smaller portions

The surging popularity of hunger-suppressing weight-loss jabs, like Ozempic and Mounjaro, is having a slimming effect on restaurant menus.
The "grand tradition" of British cuisine has always favoured "big roasts, hearty pies and desserts that require a nap after consumption", said The Independent, but the recent influx of customers with "slimmer waistlines" and "dramatically reduced appetites" is pushing restaurateurs to offer lighter, more "Ozempic-friendly" dishes.
'Skinny-slice puddings'
At first, the restaurant sector worried that the growing availability of weight-loss jabs would mean fewer customers through their doors. Instead, the same numbers are coming but they're arriving less hungry.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It started in the US first. As far back as March 2023, restaurants began changing menus and cutting portions for the "Ozempic crowd", said the New York Post. Diners were "suddenly failing miserably" to finish their meals.
Now, in the UK, some of "the most in-demand establishments" are reporting a "worrying dip" in profits, as diners taking the "skinny jab" just order a starter or a small plate, said the Daily Mail. According to a survey by Morgan Stanley, 63% of people on Ozempic order considerably less when dining out than they would have done before they were prescribed the drug.
Top chefs are trying to "cater to the fat-jab generation", said The Times. A dish of asparagus spears "draped with lardo" is "reconfigured" so each spear is "individually wrapped" to make it easier for less hungry diners to share. And "skinny-slice puddings" – a half-portion of chocolate tart or a single scoop of sorbet – are increasingly the norm.
But people on weight-loss jabs tend also to have "reduced cravings for alcohol", said The Independent, and this "side effect" is even more concerning than "a few hardly touched mains" because alcohol sales are one of the biggest money makers, often "propping up" a restaurant's slim profit margins on food.
Adapt or 'fall behind'
Restaurants have "always been about more than food". We go to them to "socialise, celebrate and conduct business", too. But when the food becomes a "mere accessory", the financial model of the industry "begins to wobble".
This isn't "just a short-lived trend": forecasters say the weight-loss drug market will be worth $105 billion (£79 billion) by 2030. Restaurants will need to adapt or "fall behind", and this means prices may rise and menus may become more flexible. The "traditional three-course dining experience" could soon become as "outdated as smoking sections".
For now, weight-loss jabs are a "rich person's drug", so it's the "more upmarket" restaurants that are affected, said The Times. But, as injectable weight-loss medication "becomes more widely used, as it inevitably will", mid-market chains and fast-food shops will be "next in the firing line". Does anyone fancy "going halves on a Chicken McNugget"?
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Could Thailand and Cambodia really go to war?
Today's Big Question Thai leader has warned that recent hostilities over border dispute could lead to all-out conflict
-
Quiz of The Week: 19 – 25 July
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures The Tour de France on horseback, a watery wedding, and more
-
Food trails are the best trails. Eat your way across the US with these 7 regional food journeys.
The Week Recommends Take a bite out of the United States
-
The 2025 James Beard Award winners
Feature Featuring a casually elegant restaurant, recipes nearly lost to war, and more
-
Summer in Seattle: Outdoor dining like nowhere else
Feature Featuring a patio with a waterfront view, a beer garden, and more
-
Critics' choice: Carrying the flag
Feature The best barbecue in town, Bradley Cooper's cheesesteak restaurant, and more
-
8 recipes that require minimal effort for the best kind of summer eating
The Week Recommends It's the season of grilling and smart desserts
-
Anshu Ahuja's golden coconut and butter bean curry recipe
The Week Recommends Plump, creamy beans in a sweet, spicy sauce
-
6 smart, surprising food books to drag you through the summer months
The Week Recommends BBQ and why we consume the way we do are just two of the tackled topics
-
Marfa, Texas: Big skies, fine art, and great eating
Feature A cozy neighborhood spot, a James Beard semifinalists, and more