Ozempic is throwing a new ‘mini’-challenge at restaurants and customers. The solution may be simple

If gluttony is the foundation on which the edifice of the modern restaurant industry was built, could the GLP-1 class of drugs be the wrecking ball that brings it all crashing down? From London to Dubai to New York City, eateries are faced with the newly shrunk appetites of customers, thanks to the “miracle” wrought by drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. This has led to a scramble to design special “mini meal” menus, of smaller servings with appropriate pricing; after all, customers who push food around on their plates after just a few bites cannot be expected to stomach the prices for regular portion sizes.

That these so-called “mini” portions are closer to the actual recommended servings is, of course, what lends a tinge of irony to the restaurant industry’s predicament. The finding of a 2016 study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, that most restaurants’ individual main courses alone exceed the recommended calories for a single meal, underscored the extent to which the culture of eating out has contributed to obesity and related illnesses. Other studies have highlighted the phenomenon of “portion distortion”, showing how even restaurant plates have grown in size over the decades, contributing to the problem of overeating.

It appears that the hunger-curbing power of GLP-1 drugs may succeed where mere will-power has repeatedly failed (the cephalic phase of digestion in humans kicks in at the very sight and smell of food). Yet, even as restaurants recalibrate their business models for a future where burgers and fries are no longer “super-sized” and fewer and fewer customers order enough food for there to be a doggy bag, weight-watchers themselves might consider revisiting a hoary piece of advice: Eat more at home. It is both healthier and cheaper.