San Francisco Frontiers - Ozempic Meals? Restaurants shrink portions to match bite-sized hunger

Then she started Ozempic.

She lost her appetite -- "my desire for cocktails and desserts and anything sweet" -- and also more than 20 pounds (9.1 kilograms) in less than two months.

But "I still wanted to maintain my social lifestyle, and I still wanted to be included in dinners," the Swedish 41-year-old who works in the tequila industry told AFP.

One of her favorite restaurants, Manhattan's Le Petit Village, made that easier: it's among the dining establishments in the city offering smaller portions at lower prices, as the prevalence of medications that reduce hunger like Ozempic grows.

The West Village restaurant decided to shrink a corner of its brunch menu, including French toast and a smoked salmon tartine, not least to accommodate diners on GLP-1s who want to go out but can't eat much.

Approximately one in eight American adults are currently taking drugs from the class of GLP-1 agonists that are increasingly popular for weight loss, according to a November poll by the non-profit health policy tracker KFF.

And one in five say they've taken the medications whose brand names include Ozempic and Wegovy -- which are also prescribed to manage chronic conditions like diabetes -- at some point.

On Monday, Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk announced US authorities had approved Wegovy to be administered in pill form for weight loss, potentially making it even more accessible.

Some in the restaurant industry are taking note.

"I was going out and seeing people eat a lot less and take one bite of their food and one sip of their drink and that was it," said Aristotle Hatzigeorgiou, who owns Clinton Hall, which has five locations across New York.

And on top of that, much of the dishes his kitchens prepared ended up in the trash -- "a mass amount of waste," he said.

So he developed the "teeny-weeny mini meal" -- for $8, diners get a bite-sized burger, a small portion of fries and their choice of a 3-oz beer, martini or glass of wine.

It's a stark contrast to some of the beer hall's other offerings, which include a "doughnut grilled cheese" and a "fondue burger" (they are what they sound like.)

But the mini-meal has proven a hit, Hatzigeorgiou said, not only for those dropping weight but for those cutting costs.

"I think people are definitely strapped with rents going up and inflation," said the restaurant owner.

Offering "a cheaper option to come out," he said, has "been working."

- 'Vast human experiment' -

For now, GLP-1s for weight loss purposes remain too expensive for many Americans.

But experts expect that will shift; even US President Donald Trump has promised affordable options.

And researchers are starting to examine how wider GLP-1 use is shaking cultural connections to food.

"Food is your enemy, instead of your great pleasure in life? I mean, that's very different," Marion Nestle, a professor emerita of nutrition at New York University, told AFP in an interview. "I think the jury is out on all of it."

Side effects of GLP-1s can include unpleasant gastrointestinal issues, but for some people, Nestle said, the medications have proven "miraculous."

The nutritionist said it's far too soon to have a grasp on long-term impact, physiologically or socioculturally: "It's a vast human experiment."

Axmacher told AFP she's taken Ozempic on and off.

When she first decided to take a break, "I was ready to feel like I could enjoy life a little bit more again."

"I do enjoy the sense of hunger and satisfaction when I get to eat something I'm in the mood for," she said, adding that on Ozempic, "I missed that."

But using the medication also helped her develop positive and sustainable habits, she said: Axmacher cut down on alcohol, exercised more, and focused on eating enough protein.

Ozempic or not, a trend of smaller restaurant dishes in the wake of America's 1990s-2000s Super Size Era can only be positive, Nestle said.

Le Petit Village management told AFP they're considering expanding their menu of half-sized portions to dinner service, and Clinton Hall is working on developing a mini-meal featuring chicken.

Some customers, Hatzigeorgiou said, have noted that "this is what meals used to look like."

"We think it's something different, but maybe it's not so different," he said with a chuckle. "Maybe it's the right-sized meal."

P.Thomas--SFF