Ozempic: Could Weight-Loss Drugs have Surprising Brain Benefits?

In this episode of Change Your Mind with New Scientist, Health Journalists Helen Thomson and Cat de Lange dive into the headline grabbing class of drugs behind the Ozempic boom to ask what these medications are really doing to our brains? Beyond weight loss and diabetes, early evidence hints at wide‑ranging effects on appetite, addiction, mood, and even long‑term brain health. With so many people now taking GLP‑1 agonists, are we unintentionally running the largest brain experiment in history, and what is it starting to reveal?

To find out, they’re joined by Professor Paul Kenny, a leading expert on the brain’s reward and motivation systems. Together, they unpack how these drugs might quiet “food noise”, reshape our cravings, and potentially influence conditions like depression, alcohol use, and Alzheimer’s disease, while also confronting their cultural side effects, from shifting body ideals to questions about who really benefits. 

Produced by Emily Bird

Find out more about Ozempic and other GLP-1 Agonists at New Scientist: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2503480-the-potential-of-glp-1-drugs-to-transform-medicine-exploded-in-2025/

Sources:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2456669-why-do-ozempic-and-wegovy-seem-to-treat-everything/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2464829-glp-1-drugs-like-ozempic-and-wegovy-lower-the-risk-of-42-conditions/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2435246-the-surprising-mental-health-and-brain-benefits-of-weight-loss-drugs/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2460806-well-learn-about-ozempics-potential-for-alzheimers-disease-in-2025/#:~:text=Two%20clinical%20trials%20investigating%20semaglutide,in%20treating%20this%20intractable%20condition.&text=Semaglutide%20belongs%20to%20a%20class,a%20hormone%20called%20GLP%2D1

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025/oct/17/fashion-shows-fewer-plus-size-models-vogue-business