A new study reveals that popular GLP-1 receptor agonists used for weight management may enhance patients' perception of sweetness and saltiness, potentially contributing to their appetite-suppressing effects. The research, published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, provides fresh insights into how these medications work beyond their known mechanisms of action.
Study Reveals Taste Enhancement in One-Fifth of Patients
The real-world study surveyed 411 individuals with overweight and obesity who were taking Ozempic (semaglutide), Wegovy (semaglutide), or Mounjaro (tirzepatide) for weight loss. About 21.3% of participants reported that food tasted sweeter than before treatment, while 22.6% experienced enhanced saltiness perception. Notably, perception of bitterness and sourness remained unchanged.
"Incretin-based therapies such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are widely used for weight management but their effect on taste perception has been unclear," said Professor Othmar Moser of University of Bayreuth, Germany, who led the research. "If changes in taste are linked to greater appetite control and weight loss, this could help clinicians better select therapies, provide more tailored dietary advice and improve long-term treatment outcomes for patients."
Differential Effects Across Medications
The study revealed some differences between the three medications in taste perception changes. Among Wegovy users, 26.7% reported that food tasted saltier than before, compared with 16.2% in the Ozempic group and 15.2% in the Mounjaro group. However, increases in sweetness perception were reported at similar frequencies across all groups: Wegovy 19.4%, Ozempic 21.6%, and Mounjaro 21.7%.
The 411 participants (69.6% female) included 148 taking Ozempic, 217 on Wegovy, and 46 using Mounjaro. Median treatment duration was similar across groups: 43 weeks for Ozempic, 40 weeks for Wegovy, and 47 weeks for Mounjaro. All participants had received treatment for at least three consecutive months, with average pre-treatment BMI ranging from 34.7 to 36.2 kg/m².
Strong Correlation Between Taste Changes and Appetite Control
The research uncovered compelling links between altered taste perception and appetite regulation. Participants who reported enhanced sweetness perception were twice as likely to experience increased satiety compared to those whose taste perception remained unchanged. These individuals were also 67% more likely to report reduced appetite and 85% more likely to experience decreased food cravings.
Similarly, participants who perceived food as saltier were approximately twice as likely (2.17 times) to report increased satiety compared to those with unchanged saltiness perception.
More than half of all participants (58.4%) reported decreased general hunger, with rates varying by medication: Ozempic 62.1%, Wegovy 54.4%, and Mounjaro 56.5%. Nearly two-thirds (63.5%) experienced increased satiety, feeling full sooner than before treatment. Food cravings were notably reduced, with Mounjaro users showing the strongest effect—41.3% reported significant craving reduction compared to 34.1% of Wegovy users and 29.7% of Ozempic users.
Mechanism Behind Taste Alterations
Professor Moser explained the biological basis for these taste changes: "These drugs 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. This, in turn, may affect appetite."
Significant Weight Loss Despite No Direct Taste-Weight Correlation
Despite the taste alterations, researchers found no direct link between changes in taste perception and BMI reduction. Weight loss results were substantial across all three medications: 17.4% BMI reduction with Ozempic, 17.6% with Wegovy, and 15.5% with Mounjaro, adjusted for treatment duration, dose, baseline BMI, age, and sex.
Professor Moser explained this apparent disconnect: "Shifts in taste may affect how satisfying or appealing food feels in the moment, which influences appetite control. However, weight loss depends on many other factors - like metabolism, long-term eating patterns, and activity - so changes to taste alone may not be enough to directly drive body weight reduction."
Clinical Implications for Patient Care
The findings suggest new opportunities for personalized patient management. "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," Professor Moser noted.
He added that tracking taste changes could help gauge treatment effectiveness beyond weight loss metrics and potentially guide dietary counseling: "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."
Study Limitations and Future Directions
The researchers acknowledged several limitations, including the inability to prove causation, reliance on self-reported data, and the possibility that online-recruited participants may not represent the broader patient population taking these medications.
The study provides valuable insights into a previously unclear aspect of GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy, suggesting that taste perception changes may serve as an additional mechanism supporting appetite control and weight management outcomes.
