Consumer News: The impact GLP-1 drugs have that no one is talking about

These drugs have changed the way Americans lose weight

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• WeightWatchers says growing consumer interest in GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is contributing to declines in its traditional diet business.

• Medifast, owner of OPTAVIA, saw annual revenue plunge 36% in 2025 as it struggled to recruit customers and coaches in a market transformed by GLP-1 drugs.

• Instead of trying to compete with the medications, traditional weight-loss companies are increasingly incorporating them into their businesses.

In April 2005, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration approved Byetta, the first GLP-1 drug, for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Twelve years later, the FDA approved Ozempic (semaglutide), sending shockwaves through the weight-loss industry.

Companies that for decades made money helping consumers shed pounds through dieting, meal plans, coaching and behavior modification have in recent years confronted a new competitor: prescription medications that can produce substantial weight loss.

Financial results from WeightWatchers and Medifast provide some of the clearest evidence of the disruption.

WeightWatchers said its traditional Behavioral subscription revenue fell 15.2% in 2025, to $592.6 million from $699 million a year earlier. The number of Behavioral subscribers at the end of the year declined nearly 19%, to about 2.63 million.

At the same time, the part of WeightWatchers that embraces prescription weight-loss medications is moving in the opposite direction.

Clinical subscription revenue, which includes WeightWatchers Clinic and access to medications for eligible patients, increased nearly 45% in 2025, to $112.8 million. Clinical subscribers at the end of the year increased about 42% to 130,200.

The contrast illustrates how dramatically drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists are altering the economics of weight loss.

WeightWatchers acknowledges the shift

WeightWatchers executives aren't being subtle about what is happening.

"Our industry is undergoing a profound transformation driven by GLP-1 medications," CEO Tara Comonte said when the company reported its 2025 results.

Fourth-quarter revenue declined 12% from the previous year, which WeightWatchers attributed in part to increasing consumer interest in GLP-1 medications, along with longer-term pressure on its Behavioral business and the effects of its Chapter 11 financial reorganization.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2025 and emerged the following month after restructuring its debt.

It would be an oversimplification to blame WeightWatchers' financial problems entirely on Ozempic, Wegovy and other drugs. The company had substantial debt and its traditional business had faced challenges for years.

But GLP-1 drugs have accelerated a fundamental change in what many consumers are looking for when they want to lose weight.

WeightWatchers is responding by becoming, in part, a medical weight-management company. Its Clinical operation gives eligible members access to clinicians and FDA-approved weight-loss medications. By the fourth quarter of 2025, Clinical revenue represented 17% of subscription revenue, compared with 11% a year earlier.

Medifast has been hit even harder

The numbers at Medifast, which operates the OPTAVIA weight-management program, are perhaps even more striking.

Medifast generated nearly $1.6 billion in revenue in 2022. By 2024, revenue had fallen to $602.5 million, and in 2025 it dropped another 36% to just $385.8 million. The company recorded a $18.7 million net loss for 2025.

The number of active earning OPTAVIA coaches fell to 16,100 at the end of 2025, down more than 40% from 27,100 a year earlier. Medifast said difficulties acquiring customers reflected broader market challenges, including the rapid adoption of GLP-1 medications for weight loss.

In regulatory filings, Medifast has described the weight-loss market as being "fundamentally impacted" by the rapid acceptance of GLP-1 medications.

That is forcing the company to rethink what it sells.

Medifast has partnered with telehealth provider LifeMD to give eligible OPTAVIA customers access to clinicians and weight-loss medications. It has also introduced nutrition plans and products specifically designed for consumers using GLP-1 drugs. By the end of 2024, about 44% of OPTAVIA coaches were already supporting at least one customer taking a GLP-1 medication.

Not every diet company has been devastated

The impact isn't uniform.

Herbalife, which sells weight-management products as part of a much broader nutrition business, reported worldwide sales of about $5.04 billion in 2025, up 0.9% from 2024. Its North American sales, however, declined 2%.

That suggests companies with diversified product lines and international businesses may be better insulated than companies whose fortunes depend primarily on Americans signing up for weight-loss programs.

Perhaps the clearest indication of how much the market has changed is that diet companies are no longer simply trying to compete against GLP-1 drugs. They're trying to make money from them.

WeightWatchers now combines its traditional behavioral program with clinical care and prescription medications. Medifast offers products for people taking GLP-1 drugs and provides access to clinicians through its partnership with LifeMD.

The strategy reflects an important reality: consumers taking weight-loss medications may still need nutritional guidance, exercise programs and help maintaining weight loss.

For traditional diet companies, that could provide a way forward. Instead of selling consumers an alternative to weight-loss drugs, they can sell services that complement them.

The financial numbers suggest that transition is already underway. At WeightWatchers, traditional Behavioral subscription revenue fell 15% last year while Clinical revenue jumped nearly 45%.

For an industry built for decades around the proposition that consumers could lose weight primarily by changing what and how much they eat, GLP-1 medications have introduced a fundamentally different proposition and some of the industry's biggest names are now racing to adapt.