UK towns and cities most interested in weight loss medications – Doncaster ranks third

In second was Croydon, while Doncaster followed in third.

The research looked at the Google search volume of weight loss medication-related terms, such as ‘best weight loss medication”, as well as weight loss medications, such as Wegovy and Saxenda.

Interest in weight loss medications has soared globally over the past couple of years, with almost half (45 per cent) of adults living in the US expressing interest in prescription weight-loss drugs according to research by KFF.

This pattern has been emphasized by the recent Ozempic trend, in which many celebrities and social media influences have promoted use of the drug. This has led to a huge surge in interest – and Ozempic was found to be the most searched-for weight loss drug in every area across the UK.

Simple Online Pharmacy decided to investigate which UK areas would most likely be interested in newly available weight loss medication.

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.

Other locations that completed the top ten were Lincoln (1,473 searches per 100,000 people), Stockport (1,422 searches per 100,000 people), Salford (1,260 searches per 100,000 people), Huddersfield (1,231 searches per 100,000 people) and Peterborough (1,217 searches per 100,000 people).

Commenting on the findings, Addy Mohammed, CEO of Simple Online Pharmacy, said: “The recent increase in weight loss searchers has undoubtedly led to a huge increase in interest for weight loss medications over the past year, with people moving to see if they are eligible for weight loss medications available on the NHS.”