These lifestyle gyms aren’t competing with Ozempic — they’re embracing it

You may think that a class of drugs that has been shown to help users lose 15% to 20% of their body weight may put the fitness industry on edge. But some gyms are actually embracing these slimming medications. And surprisingly, a new analyst report from Morgan Stanley published this month suggests these gyms are making the right move.

Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound are all GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) agonists, a type of drug that helps regulate blood sugar levels and suppresses a user’s appetite. These drugs were first approved to treat type-2 diabetes, but since have been approved for weight loss, and in the last year demand for these medications has skyrocketed.

Morgan Stanley analysts now anticipate the global market for these drugs will reach $105 billion by 2030, up from a previous projection of $77 billion. The investment bank also expects the adoption of GLP-1s to reach about 31.5 million people in the United States, about 9% of the nation’s population, by 2035.

Previously, some food executives have expressed concerns over the economic implications of these weight loss drugs and their growing popularity.

Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, the CEO of Ozempic and Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk, said in February that chief executives at food companies are calling him for advice regarding the popular treatments.

“A couple of CEOs from, say, food companies have been calling me,” Jorgensen told Bloomberg. “They are scared about it.”

While the fears of these food CEOs may be warranted — survey data has suggested that users taking these drugs are cutting their spending at restaurants — gym and fitness industry executives may have nothing to worry about.

“It shouldn’t never be bad for the fitness industry to have a large population of people getting into better physical shape,” said Michael Crandall, a personal trainer at E by Equinox at Hudson Yards who piloted and developed the upscale gym’s Ozempic protocol. “The natural progression from weight loss is better physical fitness.”

Weight loss drug users are exercising and going to the gym more

Last June, a Morgan Stanley survey of GLP-1 users found that the percentage of respondents who said they worked out weekly rose from 35% to 77% once they started a GLP-1 treatment.

“Although the exact driver is not clear from the survey, perhaps as patients lose weight, they feel both more physically able and mentally motivated to exercise to compound the benefits they are seeing from weight loss medications,” the analysts wrote in the report.

A more recent survey from the investment bank found that users of these drugs are not only working out more, they’re also signing up for the gym.

Of the roughly 300 GLP-1 users Morgan Stanley surveyed this February, 50% are members of a gym. About 70% of them joined a gym in the last 12 months, within the same time period that most started on a GLP-1.

Equinox, Life Time Fitness, and Xponential Fitness are betting on GLP-1s

A number of upscale and lifestyle gyms have launched programs over the past few months that cater to people who are on or want to take a GLP-1.

Crandall said he first started to notice people talking about these drug’s last fall, but it wasn’t until January when really noticed an uptick in clients starting to ask more questions about them. At the same time, he also saw a growing number of new clients he was onboarding were already on a GLP-1.

And so this year, Equinox started educating their senior level coaches on the best way to train clients on these medications in terms of both exercise and nutrition.

However, Equinox is not alone in investing in programs for weight loss drug users.

Life Time Fitness debuted its MIORA Longevity and Performance program in November at a location in Minneapolis and online. Through MIORA, members can get a health assessment including a blood draw and then receive personalized health recommendations such as exercise and nutrition advice, hormone therapy, and prescriptions for GPL-1 agonists.

And Xponential Fitness — the parent company of boutique brands like Pure Barre, Rumble, and RowHouse — acquired in December the weight loss clinic chain Lindora, which offers prescriptions for weight loss drugs.

Could gyms be the solution for GLP-1-related muscle loss

“When someone is on this drug, they’re going to have less cravings so they’ll be eating less food,” Crandall said. He added, that along with weight loss, this could potentially lead to a drop in bone density and lean muscle mass.

Drug makers have observed this phenomenon and are working on developing next-generation medications that address this side-effect.

In the meantime, program’s like the one at Equinox could be part of the solution.

Crandall said that one of the biggest parts of Equinox’s program is “trying to get people to eat enough healthy protein to pair with their physical activity now, because they’re not hungry for it.”