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

[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.

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