Can GLP-1 drugs change your sense of taste?

For the study, researchers collected information from 411 participants taking GLP-1 medications on potential changes to their sense of taste, appetites, satiety, and food cravings after starting treatment. Among the participants, most of whom were women, 148 were on Ozempic, 217 were on Wegovy, and 46 were on Mounjaro.

The median duration of treatment was similar across all three groups, ranging from 40 to 47 weeks. All participants had received treatment for at least three consecutive months. Participants' average BMIs before starting treatment were also similar: 34.7 (Ozempic), 35.6 (Wegovy), and 36.2 (Mounjaro).

Overall, around a fifth of participants said food tasted sweeter (21.3%) or saltier (22.6%) after taking a GLP-1 drug. Participants did not report any changes to their perception of bitterness or sourness.

Notably, more participants in the Wegovy group (26.7%) reported food tasting saltier than before compared to those in the Ozempic (16.2%) or Mounjaro (15.2%) groups. However, a similar number of participants across all groups reported increases in sweetness (Wegovy 19.4%, Ozempic 21.6%, Mounjaro 21.7%).

In addition, over half of participants reported that their appetite decreased after starting a GLP-1 treatment. Similarly, almost two-thirds of participants reported increased satiety, meaning they felt fuller sooner. Participants also reported reduced food cravings, but this varied by GLP-1 group. More people taking Mounjaro (41.3%) reported reduced food cravings compared to those taking Wegovy (34.1%) or Ozempic (29.7%).

Further analysis also found links between changes in taste perception and appetite/satiety. Participants who reported food tasting sweeter after taking GLP-1s were twice as likely to report increased satiety, 67% more likely to report a reduction in appetite, and 85% more likely to report a reduction in food cravings. Similarly, participants who reported food tasting saltier than before were 2.17 times more likely to report increased satiety. 

Commentary

This study adds to growing research on GLP-1 medications and taste perception. Previously, animal studies found that GLP-1 signaling is involved in taste sensitivity, particularly with sweet tastes. A small study also found that those taking a GLP-1 drug were more sensitive to taste than those taking a placebo.

Although it's still not clear how GLP-1s change taste perception, some health experts say it may be related to hormonal changes.

"These medications act on hormones that can affect taste," said Mir Ali, medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center, noting that patients who undergo gastric bypass may also experience changes to their gut hormones that can change their sense of taste.

Moser expressed a similar sentiment, saying that GLP-1s "act not only in the gut and brain areas that control hunger but also on taste bud cells and brain regions that process taste and reward. This means they can subtly change how strong flavours, like sweetness or saltiness, are perceived."

According to Moser, the study's findings could help inform new weight-loss treatments or help healthcare providers tailor treatments for specific patients.

"For clinical practice, this suggests that monitoring patients' taste changes could provide useful clues about treatment response, even though taste alone does not directly drive weight loss," Moser said. "It could also perhaps be used to tailor dietary advice, for example by helping patients find alternatives to foods with flavours that have become overwhelming or less appealing."

"Overall, this seems to have a positive effect," Ali said. "Maybe healthy foods that didn’t taste as good in the past now taste better. Patients may be more likely to switch to eating healthy foods if their tastes are different."