Andy Devaney
Glasgow has emerged as the UK’s leading city for weight loss injections, with a new nationwide survey suggesting the Scottish city has a bigger appetite than anywhere else for Mounjaro and Ozempic. It is a striking modern picture: a country still chasing slimmer waistlines, but increasingly doing so with a pen device in the fridge rather than a notepad full of calories.
According to the survey of 2,000 British adults currently trying to lose weight, 30% of Glaswegian dieters are using weight-loss injections. That puts Glasgow just ahead of Leeds and London, where 29% of dieters said they were using the same medications.
Manchester also features prominently in the top tier of UK cities turning to injections, with Belfast and Liverpool not far behind. The map of British dieting is changing, and it is no longer built solely around slimming clubs, salad drawers and a vague promise to start again on Monday.
Glasgow leads a changing weight loss trend
The headline figure from Glasgow is hard to ignore. One in three adults there who are actively trying to lose weight are now doing so with pharmaceutical help. That is not a fringe habit any more. It is mainstream, fast-moving and, depending on your view, either a medical breakthrough or a nutritional minefield dressed up as convenience.
Leeds and London sitting just behind tells its own story. This is not a regional quirk or a one-city oddity. It is a national shift in how people approach body weight, appetite control and long-term health.
For many, injections appear to be doing what years of conventional dieting could not: moving the scales in a meaningful way.
The numbers suggest faster results
The survey found that people using injections were eating an average of 1,123 calories a day. Those not using jabs were consuming more, at 1,389 calories.
That gap matters because so does the outcome attached to it. Those on injections reported losing an average of 22lbs during their latest attempt at weight loss. Those relying on traditional dieting methods reported an average loss of 14lbs.
On paper, that is a sizeable difference. In real life, it helps explain why so many people are interested. Faster results have a way of silencing doubt, at least for a while.
Eating less is not always eating better
Here is where the story becomes less tidy.
Despite the apparent success in fat loss, 75% of those using injections admitted they were eating less healthily than they had during previous attempts to lose weight through traditional methods such as low-fat or low-carb diets.
That is the snag in the cable knit. The appetite may be smaller, but so too, in many cases, is the quality of what goes on the plate.
The survey found that 18% said they were eating higher-fat foods than during previous diets. Meanwhile, 19% reported eating fewer fruit and vegetables. That is not just a detail buried in the small print. It gets to the heart of whether rapid weight loss is being matched by sound nutrition.
Lauren Owens, dietician at Superdrug Video GP, warned that smaller appetites can unintentionally lead to poorer food quality. “When hunger drops, people often default to whatever feels easiest rather than what is nutritionally balanced,” they said.
“During weight loss, adequate protein is essential to preserve lean muscle, vegetables provide vital vitamins and minerals, and fibre supports gut health. A calorie deficit without nutritional quality can undermine long-term health outcomes.”
Protein, energy and motivation are being squeezed
The most concerning figures may be around protein and energy.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents on injections, 64%, said they were consuming less protein, even though protein is central to preserving muscle mass and supporting energy during weight loss. One in five admitted they did not even know how much protein they should be eating.
That uncertainty is being compounded by fatigue. Four in ten, 44%, blamed lower energy levels and lack of motivation for cooking balanced meals and staying active while managing a reduced appetite.
In plain English, plenty of people may be losing weight, but not necessarily in a way that leaves them stronger, better fuelled or more resilient. A smaller appetite is not the same thing as a smarter diet.
A national appetite for better long-term advice
There is at least some awareness of that problem.
Nine in ten of all dieters surveyed agreed that eating fewer calories does not necessarily mean eating well. And 88% said they would like to know more about how to eat and live well over the long term.
That may be the clearest signal in the entire study. People do not just want a shorter route to weight loss. They also want guidance that lasts beyond the initial drop in pounds. The jab may help with appetite, but it does not teach meal planning, nutrient balance or how to keep the wheels on when everyday life barrels in sideways.
The warning behind the weight loss boom
Craig Watt, Superdrug’s Pharmacy Director, said the findings show that too many people still assume injections can do the heavy lifting on their own.
“Weight-loss injections can be an effective clinical tool to support people in creating a calorie deficit, but they are not a substitute for healthy habits,” Craig said. “Eating less doesn’t automatically mean eating well. For safe, sustainable results, weight loss needs to be treated holistically – alongside developing healthier eating patterns, prioritising nutrient-dense foods and maintaining regular movement.”
It is a measured warning, and an important one. Weight loss medication may be changing bodies quickly, but habits are still habits. If meals become smaller but poorer, and if movement disappears along with appetite, then the numbers on the scales can flatter to deceive.
What Glasgow’s result really tells us
Glasgow topping the table is the headline, but the wider point stretches well beyond one city. Britain is entering a new phase of the weight loss conversation, one shaped by medicine, convenience and the promise of visible results.
What comes next will matter more than the novelty of the trend itself. The challenge is no longer simply whether these injections work. The data suggests they often do. The harder question is whether people using them are being supported well enough to eat properly, protect muscle, maintain energy and build a healthier life once the first burst of progress is over.
Because in the end, losing weight is one thing. Living well afterwards is the part that separates a short-term fix from something worth keeping.
