That desire for a new look is also being felt in the beauty and fitness sector.
Market research firm Worldpanel by Numerator’s survey last year suggested a boost in spending on healthcare, toiletries and supplements among people taking weight-loss injections.
Some companies – in the US and now in the UK too – that offer wellness breaks are now advertising specific “retreats” targeting GLP-1 users.
Will Orr, chief executive of The Gym Group, says weight-loss drugs are leading to a greater demand for fitness services as people taking them look to keep the weight off and build muscle mass.
“We have begun educating our trainers on how best to support members on these treatments,” he says.
But he also notes a broader pattern of behaviour that pre-dates weight-loss drugs, calling health, fitness and wellness “juggernaut trends that are not going anywhere”.
That view is echoed by Georgia Stafford, research analyst in the beauty and personal care team at Mintel, who says while GLP-1s are “definitely something on most brands’ radars”, unlike the food industry, beauty brands are yet to launch products in the UK aimed specifically at users of weight-loss drugs.
“There have been some launches in the US,” she says, “but they’re very niche and very expensive,” pointing out that the cost of weight-loss drugs may also lead to people cutting back on spending in other areas.
Instead, she says many products on offer promising plumper skin and fuller hair, often marketed as anti-ageing, will already be aligned with what may appeal to those on weight-loss drugs.
Meanwhile, data from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons indicated there was an 8% rise in demand for facelifts in 2024, with the group’s president saying it was “an extension of a pattern we’ve always observed in post-weight-loss patients” that was “now amplified by the wider use of these medications”.
Additional reporting by Emer Moreau and Kris Bramwell