A Penn State University study is challenging the claim that GLP-1 medications prescribed for weight loss and Type 2 diabetes quiet the “food noise” that tempts people to overeat.
Drug ads and social media influencers coined the phrase to describe constant, unwanted thoughts about eating despite not being physically hungry. Though not a formal medical term, it has appeared in scientific literature on the phenomenon.
Penn State researchers Daisuke Hayashi and Travis D. Masterson surveyed 1,000 adults online in May. They found that 25.76% of current GLP-1 users and 26.78% of former users reported frequent food noise, compared with 16.3% of nonusers.
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They said that “may seem counterintuitive,” given anecdotal reports since 2023 that the popular drugs have quieted patients’ food cravings and more recent data showing reduced food cues among GLP-1 users.
“Such contrast is likely explained by selection rather than treatment effect: individuals living with obesity or insulin resistance — conditions associated with heightened food cue reactivity — are precisely those most likely to seek or be prescribed GLP-1RAs,” Mr. Hayashi and Mr. Masterson said in the study.
The researchers concluded that surveys cannot prove whether the drugs reduce food noise because people already prone to obsessive thoughts about eating are more likely to use them.
They published their findings Sept. 26 in Obesity Science and Practice, a peer-reviewed journal. The results linked food noise more strongly to losing control over eating than to GLP-1 use.
Overall, roughly 51% of adults surveyed reported experiencing food noise at least occasionally. Just 17.98% reported it “often” or “always.”
The Food and Drug Administration has approved GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound for weight management and Type 2 diabetes.
Weight loss associated with the drugs has delivered recognized benefits for reducing heart attacks, strokes, kidney decline and deaths related to obesity or diabetes.
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