Key Highlights
- Alcohol intake dropped 68% in four months among regular drinkers using GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide and liraglutide.
- Patients described the change as “effortless,” suggesting these drugs affect alcohol cravings at the brain level.
- Findings mirror those of approved alcohol treatment drugs, but lacked a control group for comparison.
New research suggests that popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic (semaglutide) and Wegovy may also help significantly reduce alcohol consumption. In a recent study published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, participants taking GLP-1 drugs cut their alcohol intake by nearly two-thirds (68%) in just four months.
GLP-1 drugs mimic a natural hormone that controls blood sugar, slows digestion, and reduces appetite. Researchers believe these drugs also suppress alcohol cravings by directly acting on the brain’s reward system.
“These effects are described by patients as ‘effortless,’” said Dr. Carel le Roux of University College Dublin.
Promising But Preliminary
The study tracked 262 overweight or obese patients in Ireland who were prescribed either semaglutide or liraglutide. Among regular drinkers, alcohol use dropped dramatically, with results similar to nalmefene, a drug used to treat alcohol dependence in Europe.
While promising, the study did not include a control group and involved a relatively small number of participants. Further clinical trials are needed to confirm whether GLP-1 drugs could be formally used to treat alcohol use disorder.Researchers shared the findings at the European Association for the Study of Obesity conference in Malaga, Spain.