Weight loss drugs changing more than waistlines

NBC's Rory O'Neill reports on GLP-1 shots and how they are doing more than just helping people lose weight

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Six forty five in the morning, Columbus's Morning News. It's
Mike Kelly. Let's go over to the Legacy Retirement Group
dot com phone line. Say good morning to Rory O'Neil
NBC News Radio. Rory, just for point of reference, we've
got about three to four inches of snow on the
ground and more than two hundred school districts have called off.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
So how's the weather in Orlando.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
It's gonna be a little bit drusilly today, but about
seventy eight degrees.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Seventy eight degrees. We are so sad for you that
it's going to rain just to touch.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
When I started in this business as an intern, I
was doing no schools snowfall stop up north back.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
In the day.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
So I feel for you. And the phone line's going
off the hoope thing? Did you say watch elementary?

Speaker 1 (00:42):
See now they get the text The kids get the
text messages automatically, so they they know before we do
that there's no school today.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
But it is definitely one of those mornings.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
I wanted to talk really interesting discussion about all of
these weight loss drugs, Rory, the ozempics, the Wagovis and such,
not just helping people lose weight. It's really changing some
other industries and how they do business too.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
It's such an interesting story in the Washington Post this
week because there are more than twelve percent of Americans
on these drugs that will go these thu Ocempics. Twelve percent,
that's forty million plus people. So now what we're seeing
is people lose weight. They have different either cravings, desires
needs once you know, look when you get on these drugs,
sometimes it causes nausea, indigestion, so there are gastrointestinal issues.

(01:30):
So now pharmacies are being run over for people trying
to seek those kinds of treatments or getting supplements for
electrolytes that.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
Could be lost.

Speaker 3 (01:39):
And grocery stores are seeing people on these drugs they
eat fewer processed foods, fewer chips, fewer cookies, so instead
they need to stock up on other more vegetables, more
fresh produce, which is in demand. Even think of clothing.
You know, as people are losing their weight, they don't
want to spend a lot of money on those clothes
that are sort of in the middle of target weight zone.

(02:01):
So we're seeing them buy up a lot more thrift
store clothing because well, it's only going to be temporary, right,
I only need it for a couple of months, so
I'll get buy with some thrift store fines, and smaller
sizes are being purchased, people buying less fast food. Even
gyms are sort of changing. They almost have counseling centers
for people on these drugs because oftentimes they'll experience weight loss.

(02:23):
Sometimes it increases their fertility, so people have to adjust
their medications accordingly.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
That's that's fascinating.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
And I've read an article too about how some restaurants,
mainly some of the higher end restaurants, are making their
portion sizes smaller because you know, these drugs, they just
curb your appetite essentially, is what they do. So you
go out to eat and you don't want that full
you know, menu option, you don't want that full entree,
you want you know, half a portion, right, I don't

(02:50):
need the porterhouse.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
I'll take that little princess cut of whatever. And yeah,
it's those things that had well. Even in travel, as
people get smaller, they get more confidence to be on
a plane longer, and then they'll fly the more distant
parts of the world. So all these different things are
changing as waistlines are changing,