An unexpected benefit of taking a GLP-1? Drinking less.

Once upon a time, people set down their midnight glass of champagne and attempted Dry January — cutting out alcohol for a few days, a week or two, or, for a handful of really dedicated folks, the full month. It used to be an accomplishment to get to February without grabbing a glass of wine or ordering a beer with friends. But in recent years, it’s become…easy? Now, Dry January has turned into Dry Insert-Year-Here.

That’s because we’re undergoing a major cultural shift over alcohol, and people just aren’t drinking as much anymore. While there are big reasons for this, like well-publicized research about the impact alcohol has on health and a general decline in social activities among Gen Z, one connection that’s only just getting some attention is that between GLP-1 medications, like semaglutide and tirzepatide, and alcohol use. As these weight-loss medications have gained popularity — potentially helping obesity rates drop for the first time in a decade — they’ve also seemed to reduce patients’ alcohol use, too.

Changing drinking patterns

Alcohol use has been on a steady decline for decades now. One Gallup poll found that only 62-percent of adults under the age of 35 say they drink — versus the 72-percent of people in the same age group in the early 2000s. And yet another study in JAMA Pediatrics found that alcohol use among young adults dropped between 2002 and 2018. The reasons for this aren’t totally clear — for instance, there are more young adults living with their parents these days (a potential buzzkill, depending on the circumstances).

But then there’s also been a ton of research lately stating that no amount of alcohol — zero, nada, zilch — is healthy for you. That thing about a glass of red wine being good for your heart? Not so much: Research published in Cardiology has found that not only is there no benefit to the heart from drinking, but it actually increases your risk of heart disease. In fact, the World Heart Federation (a global advocacy group for heart health that works alongside the World Health Organization) released a brief in 2022 stating that “any level of alcohol consumption can lead to loss of healthy life.” And it’s not just a matter of your cardiovascular health. A recent study found a direct correlation between alcohol consumption and dementia risk, too.

Plus, people are more into managing their mental health than ever (see: the self-care industry at large), and they’re more sensitive to how alcohol, a literal depressant, makes them feel. “Because alcohol has a big cost — money-wise and health-wise — associated with it, people are wondering if the juice is worth the squeeze,” says Elisabeth Crain, Psy.D., a psychotherapist in Sherman Oaks, CA. “When you overdrink, you don’t feel well the next day and may experience post-drinking blues or depression.” And, of course: hangovers.

The new forms of sobriety

So: Alcohol has lost its shine. But cutting it out from your life, even for health reasons, can be easier said than done. Even if you’re feeling more sober-curious — a recently coined phrase for approaching alcohol more mindfully — than going full teetotaler, taking away alcohol can also mean taking away a key social lubricant, something that greases our metaphorical wheels at networking events, family gatherings, and other major milestones. “People opting out of drinking — not because of substance abuse issues, but because they feel it’s better for them — still may feel uncomfortable when they elect for a mocktail,” says Crain. “There is almost always alcohol at social gatherings and parties, and people opting to be sober at these parties may feel like the odd man out.”

It’s similarly tricky if you’re trying to lose weight. Skipping alcohol isn’t exactly a new strategy to manage your weight, considering beer, wine, and liquor is the definition of empty calories — or calories that don’t offer any nutritional value. But that’s where things get kind of interesting, with a growing population finding it easy to let go of alcohol — namely, people taking GLP-1 agonists like tirzepatide, semaglutide, and liraglutide. They’re taking this class of medications for either type 2 diabetes or weight management, and have found that suddenly, they just no longer want alcohol. “I didn't even put the two together, but it makes so much sense,” says WeightWatchers member Tamara H., who’s been taking tirzepatide for her type 2 diabetes since last September.

“We'd have people over and everybody would be having their social drinks, a beer, a glass of wine, and I had zero desire. I'm like, ‘Oh, this is weird,’” says WeightWatchers member Ashley Z., who’s been on tirzepatide since May 2024. It wasn’t until she spent a 4th of July celebration with a vitamin-enhanced and notably alcohol-free beverage in her hand that she realized she hadn’t had alcohol. “I just didn't even want to possibly make myself not feel good, I guess. It was so strange,” she recalls.

How GLP-1s curb alcohol intake

The latest science backs up these real-life experiences, with a 2024 study in Nature Communications finding that semaglutide was associated with 50% lower risk of alcohol-use disorder compared to other anti-obesity medications. And a recent WeightWatchers study found that 45% of people on second-generation GLP-1 medications (semaglutide and tirzepatide) decreased their alcohol intake.

“We don't know the exact mechanisms yet of how these medications influence alcohol consumption, but our guess is that GLP-1 drugs can reduce the release of dopamine in the brain's motivation center, making previously rewarding behaviors, like over-drinking, less enjoyable,” says Michelle Cardel, Ph.D., M.S., RD, chief nutrition officer at WeightWatchers. “These folks are also on a weight management and health journey, and decreasing alcohol can be a means of eliminating extra calories.”

While this side effect may feel unexpected for GLP-1 users, researchers know it isn’t coming out of nowhere. One study found that exenatide, a GLP-1 agonist that was approved to treat Type 2 diabetes back in 2005, significantly reduced the alcohol-cue reactivity in the area of the brain related to drug reward and addiction — and significantly reduced the total alcohol intake in patients with obesity in particular. That supports recent theories that GLP-1s can address all types of addictions, with other research linking it to reductions in opioid-use disorder, too.

Could any weight-loss medication — not just GLP-1s — curb alcohol use? Perhaps, but not to such a degree, says Charlie Seltzer, M.D., a Philadelphia-based obesity specialist. This side effect seems to be unique to GLP-1s, connected mostly to how they work in the brain. GLP-1 medications interact with receptors in both the gut and the brain; in the latter, they basically curb your appetite. “People who take GLP-1s tend to have less of a craving for alcohol the same way they have less craving for food,” says Seltzer. “It seems to bleed over for alcohol and it doesn't appear to translate with other weight-loss medications. It hits the craving control centers.”

What GLP-1-related sobriety is actually like

A social drinker, when Ashley Z. was initially trying to lose weight years ago, she never managed to cut out alcohol. “My family all lives close by, and if it's a Saturday and a nice day, we're just all going to hang out and eat and drink,” she says. “When you socialize at least once or twice a weekend, it becomes a challenge trying to fit that into your dieting.”

But once she began taking tirzepatide, “the desire was gone, and then there was the conscious decision. Prior to the GLP-1, I wouldn't be able to control [the urge to drink],” she says. “I would just give into the temptation.” And once the switch is off, it’s off. Alcohol “just doesn’t appeal to me anymore,” says Jake P., who recently repurposed his beer fridge to be a diet-soda fridge.

In this case, the sober-ish trend isn’t just for the younger crowd. “It's across all ages and genders and existing conditions and weights,” says Seltzer. It’s also turned one of the big challenges of reducing your alcohol intake into nada — no craving? No problem. Tamara, for her part, has had roughly five drinks (total) in the year-plus of taking a GLP-1 medication; Ashley has had even fewer. Both find themselves reaching for good old-fashioned water. "I don't do anything carbonated," says Tamara, who mostly drinks still water enhanced with electrolytes. "I feel so full. I can't eat. So I stick to anything flat."

As easy as going without alcohol feels, it’s hard not to have some mixed feelings about losing your appetite for both food and drinks at the same time. It “definitely impacts being able to truly enjoy a dinner party — or any party with alcohol,” says Tamara, who often felt frustrated when she first experienced it.

Ashley, for her part, experienced a sense of loss. “I'm Irish American. We just have drinks," she says. “[Not wanting alcohol] was really confusing to even explain.” It led her to take a closer look at the role alcohol played in her life — and what she actually craved. And, it turned out, “​it wasn't the actual act of the alcohol that I was missing. It was holding a wine glass by the fire,” she says. So these days, similarly to Tamara, she usually sticks to water enhanced with either vitamins or fiber. (However, she pours it into a wine glass before joining the party.)

In spite of challenges, though, she says it’s been worthwhile — and yet another way that GLP-1s might improve people’s health beyond diabetes and weight control. “The weight loss is bigger than those bites and sips,” says Tamara. “I wanted to be healthier, so I was okay with that taking a backseat for the weight loss, the increased mobility…and another shot at living.”