Heston Blumenthal warns weight loss drugs will be bad for food industry

Chef Heston Blumenthal has warned that weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy will have a negative effect on the food industry.

Blumenthal, who has been awarded seven Michelin stars over the course of his career, said of the injections: “You still enjoy food, but it stops appetite.

“So what’s going to happen is people are going to want smaller portions.

“Supermarkets are going to be hit massively. I even heard in the news that airplanes are going to save lots of money because of the weight loss,” he told Times Radio.

He said he believes the issue is “going to get much worse in the next six months”.

He also told host Jane Mulkerrins he is taking Wegovy to combat the effects of his bipolar medication.

“I’ve put on so much weight,” he said.

He said Wegovy is helping him lose weight, describing it as a “paradox” given he is a restaurateur.

Blumenthal, who presented Channel 4 shows Heston’s Fantastical Food and Heston’s Feasts, was sectioned following a manic episode and given a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in November 2023.

He has since spoken widely of learning to live with the condition, and was the subject of BBC documentary Heston: My Life With Bipolar, which was broadcast in June.