GLP-1 Users Are Spending More on Fitness — And Luxury Travel Is Taking Notice

How GLP-1 users of Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are changing wellness, luxury hotels and travel.

Forget the idea that weight-loss drugs simply make people eat less. New research suggests GLP-1 users may be emerging as one of the most valuable new consumer groups in global wellness — spending heavily on fitness, personal training, better food, beauty and recovery. And luxury hotels are starting to pay attention.

For an industry that has spent years talking about wellness, longevity and personalised travel, the rapid rise of GLP-1 medications could prove to be one of the most consequential consumer shifts of the decade.

A new US study by consumer insights firm The Consumer Collective found people currently taking GLP-1 medications spend an average US$449 a month on fitness, compared with just US$120 among non-users — almost four times as much.

The July 2026 survey of 500 American adults also found 81 per cent of GLP-1 users were likely to pay for a gym membership, compared with 43 per cent of non-users. Users reported greater spending on personal training, supplements and recovery, while also walking more, doing more cardio and consuming more protein.

It challenges one of the early assumptions surrounding drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro: that people taking them would simply consume less. Instead, money appears to be moving.

GLP-1s are creating a new wellness consumer

The Consumer Collective found users were eating out, snacking and drinking alcohol less, while becoming more willing to pay for higher-quality groceries and protein-rich food.

Not surprisngly, almost two-thirds — 63.4 per cent — had also purchased new clothes after losing weight.

Separate 2026 research from Boston Consulting Group involving more than 1,500 GLP-1 users found spending shifting towards healthier groceries, supplements, clothing, fitness and self-care. Perhaps more significantly, BCG reported that lifestyle changes frequently spread through the rest of a GLP-1 user’s household.

PwC is seeing something similar.Its latest US research found 21 per cent of households included a current GLP-1 user, more than double the proportion measured just 16 months earlier. Apparel expenditure rose after users had been taking the medication for six to eight months, while consumers increasingly sought protein, fresh produce and supplements. This isn’t simply a pharmaceutical story anymore. It is rapidly becoming a consumer-spending story.

More than half a million Australians are already using GLP-1s

Australia is following the same trajectory. Research released by UNSW in July found approximately 500,000 Australians were regularly using GLP-1 medicines, with almost half accessing the drugs privately rather than through subsidised prescriptions.

Estimated monthly sales of the medicines examined in the research grew from just 58,000 units in May 2020 to around 500,000 by April 2025. Importantly, the researchers said their figure should be regarded as a minimum because the analysis excluded Saxenda and Wegovy, which are marketed specifically for weight management.

AIHW data provides another indication of the acceleration: PBS and RPBS prescriptions for GLP-1 analogues increased 87 per cent, from 1.7 million in 2021–22 to 3.2 million in 2024–25.

And the potential Australian market is considerably larger. A Medical Journal of Australia study published in August 2026 estimated 7.8 million Australian adults — almost 40 per cent of the adult population — meet current eligibility criteria for GLP-1 treatment for chronic weight management.

That does not mean 7.8 million Australians will take the drugs. Cost, medical suitability, access and individual choice will determine uptake. But it illustrates the scale of what could come next.

PwC Australia reports that 64 per cent of Australian GLP-1 users say the medications have changed the attention they give to nutrition, 63 per cent say they have affected how much they exercise and 55 per cent report changes to their health and wellness spending.

Globally, GLP-1 growth is only beginning

The numbers internationally are even more striking. J.P. Morgan forecasts around 30 million Americans could be taking GLP-1 treatments by 2030, compared with about 10 million in 2025. Its researchers expect the overall global incretin market, which includes GLP-1 therapies, to reach around US$200 billion by 2030.

Morgan Stanley’s 2026 modelling goes further into the next decade, forecasting the global GLP-1 market for obesity and type 2 diabetes could reach US$190 billion by 2035. Its base case assumes almost 30 per cent of the obese or diabetic population in the US and around 10 per cent in other international markets could be receiving GLP-1 therapies by then.

Cheaper formulations, oral rather than injectable drugs and broader insurance or government coverage could accelerate adoption further. And that has significant implications for travel.

Luxury hotels are already adapting to GLP-1 guests

Luxury hospitality has spent the past decade moving wellness from the basement spa to the centre of the guest experience. GLP-1s could accelerate that transformation. Read more about this trend here.

We reported this year that hotels are already responding with smaller portions, protein-forward menus, healthier room service, recovery treatments and more sophisticated fitness programs.

Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort is among properties adapting its wellness approach, while The Broadmoor in Colorado allows guests to order smaller meal portions without compromising presentation. The Miami Beach EDITION has introduced more protein-focused dishes and evolved its drinks offering. There is more about that here.

Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills has even introduced a GLP Body Preservation Infusion through a wellness partner, aimed at guests concerned about issues including nutritional status, energy and muscle preservation.

The latter is important because the conversation around GLP-1s is increasingly shifting from weight loss to quality of weight loss.

A 2026 meta-analysis of 20 randomised trials found lean mass represented a meaningful proportion of weight lost with incretin therapies. Resistance training produced a more favourable lean-mass profile, supporting growing clinical emphasis on strength work and adequate nutrition during significant weight loss.

That creates an obvious opportunity for sophisticated hotels: strength trainers rather than simply treadmills, protein-rich breakfast choices, body-composition assessment, restorative treatments and personalised nutrition rather than another generic “healthy menu”.

The new definition of indulgence

There is a broader shift happening in luxury travel at exactly the same time. Affluent guests increasingly define luxury through how a trip makes them feel, rather than how much they can consume.

Skift’s luxury research describes wellness, privacy, personalisation and intentional experiences as increasingly central to high-end travel, while contemporary resorts are investing heavily in sleep, fitness, longevity and recovery.

For GLP-1 users, the traditional symbols of hotel indulgence — enormous breakfast buffets, oversized desserts, alcohol-heavy minibars and three-course room-service meals — may simply become less relevant.

The opportunity is not to create an “Ozempic menu” or publicly label guests according to their medication. Luxury should be far more subtle than that.

It means offering beautiful smaller portions without embarrassment. Exceptional high-protein food. Serious resistance-training facilities. Excellent trainers. Sophisticated non-alcoholic cocktails. Recovery. Sleep. Nutrition. And staff capable of recognising that for a growing group of affluent travellers, maintaining their wellbeing while travelling is no longer an optional extra.

The fascinating consequence of the GLP-1 revolution may ultimately be this: people are consuming less of some things, but becoming willing to spend considerably more on themselves. For luxury travel, that could be one of the biggest opportunities of all.