NPR: Dizzy after one drink? Social drinkers on obesity drugs lose the taste for alcohol

[Dennis Donovan]

NPR - Dizzy after one drink? Social drinkers on obesity drugs lose the taste for alcohol

December 2, 20245:00 AM ET
Allison Aubrey



Many social drinkers who take obesity medications, such as Wegovy or Mounjaro, say they don't enjoy alcohol as much.

A new study of WeightWatchers members who take obesity drugs — and were in the habit of drinking — finds about half of them cut back after they started the medication.

"I feel amazing," says Tamara Hall, 45, a mother of three. She began taking the GLP-1 drug Mounjaro in 2023 as part of a WeightWatchers program.

The medicine is covered by her insurance. At the time she had elevated blood sugar and her weight put her in the category of having obesity. She's now lost more than 100 pounds, and though she was never a daily drinker, she consumes much less.

"This is the best I have felt in my entire adult life," Hall says. Her A1C (which is a blood test that measures blood sugar over a three-month period) is now in the healthy range. "It's life changing," she says.

Hall was a moderate drinker who enjoyed wine or a cocktail at social gatherings. "A margarita or mixed drink, that was my go to," she says. But once she started the medication, her appetite for alcohol changed.

/snip

[DFW]

1. Well, I'm not on obesity drugs, but..................

I don't drink, socially, or otherwise. I have always hated the taste of alcohol, whether in drinks or in desserts or even in candy. I can't stand it. Order me a gin and tonic if you must, but hold the gin, please.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. Very Light Drinker Here

Since I like the taste of beer, I buy zero alcohol products because I always wanted a third beer for the taste, but never liked the alcohol buzz.
I'll have a glass of wine or two over a month.
I've got a bottle of 30 year ages single malt scotch on the piano.
It's 2/3rds full. It's been there at least 8 years.
Not a teatotaler, but very modest drinker

So, I get where you're coming from.

[JanMichael]

5. Have you tried Guinness Zero? Not bad at all.

And I mix it half a half with Michelob ultra light for a low alcohol dark beer. It's awesome.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. I Have

For me, it's just barely distinguishable from the regular version.
Neither is as good as Guiness on tap, and I will have one of those a few times a year at a club near my house.
I don't mix it.
I mostly buy Heineken & Peroni 0.0%. They don't taste the same so I get different flavor profiles, both at essentially alcohol free. (There's a tiny amount of residual alcohol in both at around 250ppm. Regular beer is 48,000ppm!)
There is a Sam Adam's IPA that are N.A. beers, but not zero percent.
Roughly 1/10th the alcohol of a regular beer. Pretty good, too. I get that once in acgreat while during hot weather.

[JanMichael]

4. I am certainly not on them either. But also not a tea tottaler.

Plus I hate gin. Tastes like dirt.

But a good porter? Bring it.

[maxsolomon]

6. Ok, thanks for sharing that.

The article is about people who do like it.

[DFW]

8. I have no problem with those who do like it

But ever since I was very little, and curious about all “those bottles” my parents kept for when people came over, I was allowed a sip of each, and was revolted each time. My parents assured me that I would like them “when I was old enough.” At 72, I am obviously still too young, because I still can’t stand the taste if any of them. If others enjoy them, by all means, guzzle away. As long as I’m not forced to drink the same stuff they do, it’s no skin off of my back. Chacun à son goût.

[comradebillyboy]

2. Since I started taking Ozempic I found drinking

alcohol to be unpleasant and I've completely stopped drinking. Now I really enjoyed my evening dram of Irish whiskey so this was the drug's worst side effect for me. I didn't actually want to stop.

[pansypoo53219]

9. sigh. i hold booze quite well, but for other reasons. only 1. not that i have had any booze for a few years.

+ that last bourbon pink pussycat was awesome.