Ozempic is everywhere right now. A-lister or not, everyone seems to know someone taking weight-loss drugs. An estimated 500,000 people in Britain take Mounjaro and Ozempic – drugs that are a proven treatment for type 2 diabetes, that have weight loss was recognised as a significant side-effect. In the US, it’s even bigger business; an enormous one in eight adults in the US have tried GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy.
Most weight loss drugs work by reducing your appetite and increasing feelings of fullness. This means they are having an impact on eating out, with restaurants in Hollywood cutting portion sizes and offering ‘Ozempic dishes’ after weight-loss drugs have altered the way people eat.

Jeremy Clarkson recently said that restaurants should introduce child-size menus for adults on weight loss jabs. Writing in The Sunday Times, Clarkson, who gave up on taking the weight loss drug tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro, said it turned him into a ‘bulimic version of Henry VIII’ and he was ‘sick a lot.’ He explained that ‘no matter how small the starter is’, those using the jabs would not have room for a main, let alone a dessert.
‘I’m surprised restaurateurs don’t ban anyone on a diet drug from coming through the door,’ he said, continuing that he was ‘saddened’ when a group of friends, all using the weight-loss injections, recently came to his home for Sunday lunch but ‘didn’t eat a thing.’

He said: ‘Making food and sharing it with your friends should be a joyful thing [..]  There needs to be a new recipe book, and certainly a restaurant, that creates recipes and food for people who are no longer able to eat very much. Think of it as a children’s menu, but with tuna carpaccio instead of fish fingers.’

In a post on X sharing Clarkson’s comments on X, one user agreed with him, writing, ‘Yes I do. I am on Ozempic and sometimes I do not feel all that hungry when I am at a restaurant. I sometimes order a starter and then a pudding. I do not see why it should be an issue with the restaurant. Maybe restaurants should have a choice of servings I.e small, regular or large.’

A-listers in the US such as Oprah Winfrey, Sharon Osbourne, Elon Musk and Amy Schumer have all spoken openly about taking Ozempic. It makes sense that the trend for menus catered to those taking weight loss drugs is already sweeping Hollywood – where restaurants are already seeing the effects. A Morgan Stanley survey found that 63 per cent of Ozempic users are spending less when they dine out – not because they can’t afford to, but because they physically can’t stomach the same number of courses they once did.

A talent agent who represents several household names told The Daily Mail  ‘All the restaurants in Beverly Hills are now offering smaller portions because everyone is on Ozempic and can’t finish big steaks and bowls of pasta any more,’ continuing ‘It’s not something they advertise because no one admits they are taking Ozempic, but everyone is on it so the restaurants are adapting and offering smaller dishes, half portions or dishes to share. You’re seeing a lot of expensive things like caviar and oysters making a return to the menu. People can’t eat much because Ozempic makes them feel full faster, so if they are going to eat they want it to be a luxury experience.’

Meanwhile, the Mail Online reports some holiday resorts could even introduce ‘Ozempic menus’ and smaller portions for tourists. ‘Many destinations already cater to guests who are mindful of portion sizes and nutritional content,’ Seda Yilmaz, director at Timeless PR and Turkey Tourism Expert, told the MailOnline. ‘But resorts might look at offering smaller-portioned, curated dishes or even wellness-focused dining options that align with the health-conscious preferences of these travellers. Luxury hotels and upscale dining venues might even see this as an opportunity to introduce specialised menus featuring smaller, nutrient-dense dishes that align with the healthy lifestyle choices of modern travellers.’

She continued: ‘In Turkey’s growing wellness tourism sector, we could see Ozempic-specific or wellness-centred packages. With more travellers seeking mindfulness and fitness experiences like thermal spas, hammams, and yoga retreats, there’s potential for tourism packages that prioritise activities over dining and nightlife.’

One user took to X to share a picture of a menu in the US chain Smoothie King, which read ‘support your GLP-1 routine.’ The menu features smoothies such as ‘Gladiator GLP-1’, ‘Power Meal Slim GLP-1’ and ‘Keto Champ GLP-1.’ He captioned the post ‘smoothie king has an Ozempic menu now.’

Others have taken to TikTok to weigh in on the phenomenon. One video shared by a TikTok user shows a girl’s dinner, with the words ‘when everyone else at dinner is on Ozempic. One of the girls in the video takes a tiny bite of her food, before declaring that she was full. Another user captioned her video ‘POV: Christmas lunch but we’re all on Ozempic’, and showed a table of women struggling to finish their food.

Ozempic is also having an impact on the amount of alcohol people drink, with many users of the injections reporting that it makes them feel nauseous. In an appearance on the River Café Table 4 podcast, Stephen Fry explained that Ozempic caused him to vomit several times a day and put him off drinking alcohol. He tried me on it, and the first week or so, I was thinking, “This is astonishing. Not only do I not want to eat, I don’t want any alcohol of any kind. This is going to be brilliant,’ he said. ‘Then I started feeling sick, and I started getting sicker and sicker and sicker. I was literally throwing up four, five times a day and I thought, “I can’t do this.” So that’s it.’

Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that makes Ozempic and Wegovy, stands behind the safety and efficacy of all its GLP-1 medicines when they’re used as indicated and taken under the care of a licensed health care professional, it said in a previous statement to TODAY.com.

The use of weight-loss drugs also has a knock-on effect on how people buy groceries. A recent study from the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and the data firm Numerator found that ouseholds with at least one user of GLP-1 drugs, the diabetes medications found to encourage weight loss, reduced their grocery spending by about 6% within six months of starting the drugs. For higher-income households, the spending cut is as much as 9%. 

Will Ozempic change restaurant culture forever? Only time will tell.