what is 'ozempic personality'? what we know about the emotional flattening reported by some users
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glp-1s have been shown to reduce appetite. whether they could act on other cravings isn't clear, but it could be a possibility, experts say.
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there’s a name for the blah some glp-1 users are feeling. a loss of interest in foods they once enjoyed or diminished motivation to take part in activities they used to love, like sports or gardening. it’s called “ozempic personality” or anhedonia. as with “ozempic face” and “ozempic butt” before it, “ozempic personality” started not as an official diagnosis but as an encapsulation of the experiences people have shared online. according to anecdotes but not the scientific literature, some users have experienced a kind of emotional flattening.
“the dullness is real,” one user posted to a r/zepbound subreddit. “i had a few weeks when i was craving crazy hot cinnamon jawbreakers that were literally so painful i’d be crying, because i just wanted to feel something.”
the use of glp-1 receptor agonists, such as ozempic and mounjaro, continues to rise. according to a survey of 1,536 canadians and 1,012 americans conducted by leger in february, eight per cent of canadian adults and 11 per cent of american adults report taking a prescription glp-1 medication, primarily for weight loss (canada: 58 per cent; united states: 71 per cent). users reported experiencing behavioural shifts, including fewer cravings, lower appetite, ordering smaller portions, choosing lighter options and sharing more often at restaurants.
people experiencing “ozempic personality” report a different kind of behavioural change, including a lack of pleasure in activities they once enjoyed, from hobbies and socializing to sex. one user on the r/ozempic subreddit asked if others had made “out of character life changes” while taking the drug. they said they did “quite a few things” they wondered they would have otherwise, including ending their marriage. “i ended up telling my husband i wanted a divorce last october, and he then moved out.”
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if people are reporting it, it’s real, doctors say. what’s causing “ozempic personality” — whether it’s glp-1 drugs or something else — is the question. the only way to know what could be behind it and whether it’s common is to investigate it.
“there’s no strong evidence for this. it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, but like with any new drug, you learn about its impacts over time,” says kaberi dasgupta, a physician, researcher and professor of medicine at mcgill university. “people are raising something, so it’s going to be worthwhile to look at larger groups of people, and figure out the best way to capture it, because this information may or may not be captured in routine medical visits. there isn’t a diagnostic code for ‘ozempic personality,’ so it may need to be a combination of (research methods).”
an estimated three million canadian adults take glp-1 receptor agonists, making canada the world’s second-largest user, according to the canadian public health association.
hertzel gerstein, an endocrinologist and professor in the department of medicine at mcmaster university, highlights the sheer number of people taking glp-1s, whether prescribed by a doctor or obtained elsewhere. “when that happens, it’s not surprising that you’re going to get all sorts of interesting discussions and reports.”
when a health-care provider prescribes a medication, they should discuss with their patient what to expect and what types of side effects may occur, adds gerstein. everyone responds to drugs differently, and if there’s a problem, they should discuss it with their physician.
“no matter how much research is done, i never know, as a doctor who sees patients, what the drug i’m going to prescribe to you will do to you. all i know from the best science is: what does it do on average to the average patient? i’ve been a doctor for more than 45 years, and i’ve seen enough to know that everybody’s a unique individual, and that’s certainly what the literature says. and if somebody tells me that they’re having a certain side effect, i believe them.”
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a spokesperson for novo nordisk canada said in a statement to national post that semaglutide (the active ingredient in ozempic and wegovy) “has cumulatively over 49 million patient years of exposure,” adding that its “efficacy and safety have been extensively demonstrated in people with obesity/overweight with robust evidence for improving health outcomes,” such as cardiovascular death and stroke. the pharmaceutical company didn’t comment on whether users of its glp-1s have reported an emotional flattening or if “ozempic personality” is something they’re investigating.
eight per cent of canadian adults and 11 per cent of american adults report taking a prescription glp-1 medication, according to a february 2026 survey. photo by indranil mukherjee/afp via getty images
lilly canada, maker of mounjaro and zepbound, said in a statement to national post that patient safety is the company’s “top priority, and we actively monitor, evaluate and report safety information for all our medicines.” without commenting directly on anhedonia or “ozempic personality,” the company added that lilly’s product monographs include “robust warnings approved by relevant regulatory authorities,” and that anyone experiencing side effects should speak with their health-care provider.
“the important thing we know about the glp-1 receptor agonists is that these drugs have been really extensively tested,” says gerstein. the evidence has shown that the average person loses weight, improves their type 2 diabetes control and has a lower risk of future death, heart attacks, heart failure, kidney disease and strokes. “but, like i always say, there are eight billion people in the world, and we don’t know how anything we do works on all eight billion. there’s always going to be somebody who has unusual effects. so, on average, they’re safe, but everybody’s unique. i have patients who can’t tolerate these drugs, and they stop them.”
even in well-researched areas, such as glp-1s, questions still arise, he adds. “there’s always more that we don’t know than that we do know. that’s the nature of the world that we live in, and it’s a good thing.”
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the kinds of behavioural changes some users are describing as “ozempic personality” aren’t unusual, says gerstein. he tells his patients they may experience such shifts, including finding they no longer care for foods they once enjoyed. people have also reported positive changes, such as quitting smoking or reducing their alcohol intake.
purely anecdotally, dasgupta has seen a couple of patients taking semaglutide “that don’t seem as happy as i would have thought they would have been.” their subdued reactions mirrored some of those described by people experiencing so-called “ozempic personality” while taking glp-1s. “it surprised me because many are happy, but they’re content. it’s not like they’re saying, ‘oh my goodness. this has changed my life.’ they’re kind of like, ‘yeah, it’s good.’”
people who’ve lost a lot of weight by any means often report a recalibration — “a different way of looking at the world” — unrelated to a drug, says gerstein.
dasgupta also highlights the complexity that can come with rapid weight loss. “people go on (glp-1s) to improve their diabetes control, or reduce their blood pressure and maybe lose weight. but when your body changes quickly, that’s an adjustment, and there’s good literature on that.”
depending on how quickly people lose weight, their reactions may be different. “for example, in the bariatric surgery literature, they talk about people having to have support to deal with having a different body, and what does that mean? and even when people respond positively, the person may think, ‘oh, so you didn’t think i was great before, and now suddenly you think i’m amazing.’ so there are all kinds of conflicts that could come from that.”
for some people, the transition can be complicated, but then there are others who report being delighted they can move more easily and are freed from “food noise.” as with “ozempic personality,” “food noise” isn’t a scientific term, but evidence is building. a 2025 study published in nature defined it as “persistent thoughts about food that a person perceives as unwanted or distressing, and that may cause social, mental or physical problems.”
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“some people feel like … they have that overdeveloped food-seeking behaviour, which was probably very adaptive when food environments were scarce, but now it’s distracting because there are stimuli everywhere,” says dasgupta. “so, when they get these medications, they feel like, ‘ah, i can think about something else. i’m not worrying about food.’”
some experts have suggested that the “ozempic personality” phenomenon may be due to the effect on dopamine, part of the brain’s reward system. maybe, says gerstein. but at this point, any explanations are just hypotheses.
there are receptors throughout the body for glp-1s, and science doesn’t know all of the possible effects they could have. “anybody can come up with an explanation,” he adds. “i don’t think it really helps. the question for a patient is, ‘how are you feeling on this drug?’ if you’re not feeling well, then let’s talk about adjusting the dosage. let’s see what happens. do you feel better or not?’ and that’s just talking to your patient and having a discussion and doing what’s best for them. but that’s very different than saying in a sweeping statement that, ‘people who get this experience this.’ i would never say that, because we don’t know.”
studies into the effects of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, could certainly be done, says dasgupta. “it’s an interesting theory, but we haven’t even established that (‘ozempic personality’) is an entity of itself. so there’s room to sort that out.”
glp-1s have been shown to reduce appetite. whether they could act on other cravings isn’t clear, but it could be a possibility, dasgupta suggests. then there’s the chance that feeling unwell is contributing to the emotional flattening some people are reporting. dasgupta estimates that roughly 20 per cent of patients on glp-1s stop taking them because of nausea. “if i’m nauseous, and not feeling good, well, i’m not really feeling enthusiastic about doing anything.”
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she recalls a patient taking metformin, a widely used medication for type 2 diabetes, who was convinced her abdominal discomfort was due to the drug. it could have been, says dasgupta, but ended up being cancer. “i’m not letting any drug off the hook, semaglutide or otherwise. it’s good to think, ‘what are the side effects of the drug?’ but you have to think of all the possibilities. that’s what we do in medicine.”
dasgupta worries a bit about terms such as “ozempic personality” because of the risk of labelling people who are using glp-1s for medically justifiable reasons, which could have a stigmatizing effect.
“it’s like excess weight itself, which can be stigmatizing to people. now, people who are seeking a way of controlling this for their health — maybe also for their personal appearance, but also for societal pressure — are going to be double-judged. judged because they had what they perceived, or someone perceived or for health reasons, was excess weight, and then judged for using a pharmacological agent, and then maybe judged for having a side effect. that’s a lot of judging,” says dasgupta.
“i would steer away from any of that. if they’re your close friend, and you know they’re taking it, and they seem to be having some personality changes, maybe, if you feel comfortable, have that conversation with them. but certainly, don’t go around saying, ‘hey, looks like you might have ‘ozempic personality.’ that’s the last thing anybody wants to hear — or ‘ozempic butt,’ for heaven’s sake.”
this article was originally published in the national post on april 24, 2026.
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