Nov 26, 2025 | Patti Waldmeir
Financial Times Columnist, Patti Waldmeir sits down with IIFH faculty director, Justin Siegel, and Charlotte Biltekoff, UC Davis professor, to understand how GLP-1s are impacting American holidays centered around food, like Thanksgiving.
One recent study found that households with at least one GLP-1 user cut savoury snack spending by over 10 per cent in the first six months.
“It’s the most significant shift in the food system in the last 100 years,” says Justin Siegel, faculty director of the Innovation Institute for Food and Health at University of California Davis. “And it’s beginning to impact culture.”
That can have big implications for Thanksgiving when “eating too much is part of the ritual”, says Charlotte Biltekoff, professor of American studies and food science and technology at UC Davis.
… patients often report less craving for fatty or sweet foods — exactly the kind in pride of place on our holiday tables.
