Doncaster 3rd in searches for weight loss meds amid global shortages
Interest in weight loss medications has soared globally over the past couple of years, driven by the recent surge in demand for drugs like Ozempic, part of the semaglutide class, despite a significant supply shortage.
The World Health Organization has highlighted this trend, noting that the increased interest in these drugs, particularly due to their appetite-suppressing effects, has outpaced supply, leading to concerns about the availability and potential falsification of these medications.
This trend has been further amplified by the recent Ozempic phenomenon, where celebrities and social media influencers have popularized the drug. The resulting surge in interest has made Ozempic the most searched-for weight loss drug across the UK.
Simple Online Pharmacy conducted an investigation to determine which UK areas are most likely to show interest in newly available weight loss medications, particularly in light of the recent surge in demand and the global supply challenges.
Using Google Keyword Planner, they looked at the average number of monthly searches for weight loss medication-related terms, such as ‘weight loss medication cost’ and ‘weight loss drugs’, alongside names of various weight loss medications, such as ‘Wegovy’, ‘Mounjaro’ and ‘Saxenda’.
The total number of searches were compared to local population sizes in UK towns and cities to find the areas most interested in the use of weight loss medications.
The area found to be the most interested in weight loss medications was Bolton, with 2,159 monthly searches per 100,000 people for weight loss drugs and related terms. Overall, Bolton had a monthly search volume of 3,051.
In second was Croydon, which generated an average of 1,706 monthly searches per 100,000 people. In total, Croydon had a monthly average of 2,958 for searches relating to weight loss medication.
Ranking third was Doncaster, which had a monthly average of 1,620 searches per 100,000 people. Doncaster’s total monthly average amounted to 1,840 searches.
Following in fourth was Wakefield, averaging 1,581 monthly searches per 100,000 people. On the whole, Wakefield had an average of 1,736 searchers per month.
Rounding up the top five was Manchester, which recorded 1,482 monthly searches per 100,000 people. This corresponded with 5,863 total monthly searches pertaining to weight loss medication.