Work

Digital Food Purchase Signatures and Their Response to GLP‐1‐Based Treatment in People With Obesity

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: AIMS: To characterise digital food purchase signatures in adults with obesity (OB) versus normal-weight (NW) controls and explore changes from pre-treatment to early (5-month) and later (10-month) phases of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) therapy, including high and low weight-loss responders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We obtained household-level loyalty-card food purchase data at two major Swiss grocery retailers for 56 OB adults and 92 NW controls, covering 12-24 months. Purchases were matched to a nutritional database and analysed by purchase patterns using nutrient profiles, food group distributions, and composite diet quality scores, comparing OB and NW cross-sectionally and, within the OB group, longitudinally following GLP-1RA initiation. RESULTS: ) purchased a higher proportion of energy from protein (mainly animal-based), higher energy-adjusted salt content, but smaller energy shares of fruit, vegetables, nuts, whole foods and scored lower on the Dietary Phytochemical Index, Simplified Healthy Food Diversity Index and alternate Mediterranean Diet Score (all p < 0.05). GLP-1RA initiation was followed by early increases in protein-derived energy, fibre content, energy from fruit, vegetables and unprocessed foods (all p < 0.05). However, by 10 months, purchasing patterns no longer differed meaningfully from pre-treatment levels in the full cohort. High/low weight-loss responders did not differ in food purchase patterns, except for a greater increase in salt content among low responders at 5 months. CONCLUSIONS: Distinct digital food purchase signatures were observed in OB versus NW adults. Within OB, no clear longitudinal shift was evident after 10 months of GLP-1RA treatment, although the sample size and household-level data limited individual-level precision and interpretability.

Source: Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism

DOI: 10.1111/dom.71494

Authors: Freya Orban, Laura Fernandez Cerro, Melanie Stoll, Maurice Rupp, David Herzig, Lia Bally

Institutions: University of Bern, University Hospital of Bern

Language: English

Topic: Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior

Subfield: Nutrition and Dietetics

Field: Nursing

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $5,380