Obesity medication will often reduce a person’s desire to drink alcohol, new research suggests. 

Among those prescribed the medication, alcohol intake dropped from 23 units to eight per week - roughly the equivalent to going from 12 pints a week to only four. 

The Medication Weight Loss Clinic in Dublin research found the changes among patients who were prescribed liraglutide and semaglutide.

“It sends a signal to your brain that you’ve eaten enough and it’s thought that in doing so, it also modulates people’s desire for alcohol,” Clinic Lead and GP Dr Maurice O’Farrell said. 

“It also makes people feel very full; so after an evening meal, they just feel they don’t have enough space for any more.” 

A man carrying pints. Picture by: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

Alcohol is often high in calories and patients’ reduction in drinking was credited to an average weight loss of 8kg over a four month period. 

“With light drinkers, there’s a minimal effect,” Dr O’Farrell said. 

“But on the heavy drinkers, there’s a very big effect - they simply can’t get the alcohol into them. 

“Even if they wanted to have a big night out, they just feel too full very quickly. 

“By the time they’ve had three or four pints, it feels like they’ve had eight or nine pints.” 

According to the HSE, just 37% of people in Ireland have a normal weight, 37% are classed as overweight and the rest, 23% of the population, are obese.

Main image: Empty pints at a pub. Picture by: Sam Boal/RollingNews.