It has not escaped the notice of the sort of people who make over-confident predictions about the food system that GLP-1 agonists are going to be enormously impactful over the coming years. Anyone looking at the future of food needs to picture a world where a significant proportion of appetites are shaped by these new pharmaceutical weight-loss treatments, and somehow attempt to work out what sort of food products drugged-up future consumers are likely to want.
January has seen most retailers make a move into nutrient-dense, small-portion and otherwise ‘GLP-1 friendly’ options. Job done, one might think. We’ve added some protein and fibre to a couple of smoothies and shrunk a few ready meals – bring on the next big trend.
But what no one wants to talk about are the huge limitations in our knowledge of how GLP-1 medications are likely to impact food choice. Hundreds of millions are currently being spent, based on a few limited studies and an awful lot of guesswork.
The lack of long-term research
From the small amount we do know, everything sounds fantastic. Users have a lower craving for starchy foods, favour decreased meal sizes, and have less desire for anything salty, energy dense, high in fat or excessively sweet. Seemingly, from a health perspective at least, a food preference nirvana.
However, similar things have long been reported immediately following bariatric surgery. In those patients, over the longer term, a different story tends to emerge. Many start craving more palatable foods, looking for anything they can keep down that gives them a small amount of comfort or pleasure. There are numerous reports of people turning to alcohol, drugs, or binging on high-energy foods like ice cream.
Hopefully, this will not be the case for GLP-1 agonists, but to suggest we know for sure is foolhardy. Much of the available literature uses self-reported intake, which is notoriously unreliable, especially from people who are dieting. Perhaps more importantly, because we are at such an early stage, pretty much everything is based on the weight-loss phase of treatments. There is virtually no published work covering the maintenance phase, which is likely to be way more significant in shaping the future.
Support for GLP-1 users
Food plays an important role in people’s lives. If you dramatically reshape appetite with an intervention, that role suddenly has to change. This can leave a gap that needs filling, and without adequate support, there is no guarantee it will be filled with something positive or benign.
There is currently not enough specialist dietetic or psychological support for bariatric surgery patients. There will certainly not be enough for the millions of GLP-1 users. They will need help eating adequate diets, not moving into problematic food relationships, and not drifting into substance abuse. The new drugs are extraordinary and should be celebrated, but millions of people taking them is going to be a challenge. We should not be surprised if we encounter food system problems that we never anticipated.
There is a huge need for more concerted academic research on this issue, to better understand how food preferences will change. Serious companies should be looking to sponsor and collaborate on this right now, as it will take a long time to deliver results. The food industry must attempt to fill the gap that the lack of clinical support is likely to leave.
Whether the latest iteration of ‘GLP-1 friendly’ products will prove appropriate or adequate remains to be seen. But we should not be surprised if we have to change and adapt offerings further as new knowledge comes along.
Anthony Warner is a development chef at New Food Innovation
No comments yet