GLP-1 Users Cut Fast-Food Spending More Than Groceries

Numerator data shows lapsed GLP-1 user households reduced limited-service restaurant spending faster than active users did.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Weight Loss

Gouache-painted editorial illustration of a plain paper sack beside a small plate on a cream surface, evoking reduced restaurant spending. — Households that stopped taking GLP-1 medications cut fast-food restaurant spending 4.6% over the 12 months ended Sept. 30, outpacing active users. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Have your household's fast-food and grocery purchases gotten smaller over the past year?

Numerator estimates 12.3 million U.S. households include a lapsed GLP-1 user, and those households account for more than $166 billion in annual grocery and fast-food spending. For the 12 months ended Sept. 30, spending per household at limited-service restaurants fell 4.6% among former users, compared with 3.4% among active users.

Why it matters

The findings suggest that households that stopped using GLP-1 medications are shifting food spending in ways that differ from those still on the drugs, with restaurant purchases falling more sharply than grocery purchases. Shifts of this kind can affect how restaurant chains and packaged-food companies plan their product and marketing strategies.

Numerator purchase data for the 12 months ended Sept. 30 shows lapsed GLP-1 user households spent 4.6% less per household at limited-service restaurants, compared with 3.4% for active users. Spending at Subway among lapsed-user households fell 15% year over year, while Costco and Walmart spending grew 3.2% and 1.3%.

The players

Numerator

Numerator is a Chicago-based market research firm that analyzes consumer purchase data.

The details

Lapsed GLP-1 user households reduced grocery spending by 1.8% year over year, compared with a 2.6% decline among active users. Among lapsed-user households, spending at Arby's fell 6.8%, Domino's fell 4.5%, and McDonald's fell 1.8%, while Campbell's spending declined 6.6%.

- Sept. 30: End of the 12-month purchase data period analyzed
- Nov. 2: Numerator published its findings on GLP-1 household spending

Health Landscape

The findings add to a growing body of purchase-data research on how GLP-1 medications are associated with changes in household food spending. Because the data compares lapsed users with active users over the same 12-month window, it offers a view of how spending patterns shift after medication use ends.

For households that have stopped GLP-1 medications, the data points to a shift in eating-out habits, with fast-food and quick-service spending falling more than grocery spending. Households weighing grocery and restaurant budgets may see these patterns reflected in their own spending over time.

The takeaway

The Numerator data suggests that changes in medication use can coincide with shifts in where and how households spend on food. Readers tracking their own budgets may find it useful to notice whether restaurant or grocery spending changes after a major diet change.