By Anthony Kingsley
Ozempic has become a familiar name far beyond the doctor’s surgery. Celebrity stories, speculation about celebrity weight loss and social media posts have brought it into everyday conversation.[1] If you are struggling with your weight or your relationship with food, you may wonder: Could it help me?
Ozempic contains semaglutide, a medicine that reduces appetite and helps people feel fuller for longer. Ozempic is prescribed for type 2 diabetes. Wegovy contains the same active ingredient and is prescribed for weight management in eligible people. Whether either medicine is appropriate for you is a decision to discuss with a qualified clinician. (NHS guidance on semaglutide)
There is good reason for the interest in semaglutide. In a large clinical trial, adults receiving semaglutide 2.4 mg alongside lifestyle support lost an average of 14.9% of their starting weight over 68 weeks, compared with 2.4% for those receiving a placebo.[7] That result concerns semaglutide at the dose studied for weight management; it should not be read as a result for every person who takes the medicine.
But appetite and weight may be only part of your experience. Imagine finishing dinner and finding yourself opening the cupboard a little later. Perhaps you are hungry. Perhaps food offers comfort after a difficult day. Perhaps you are not quite sure what you need.
Alongside the medical question, I would invite another: what might the urge to eat be helping you cope with?
What does research tell us about cravings and emotional eating?
Semaglutide can affect cravings as well as hunger. In a two-year clinical study, participants receiving it reported better control of food cravings than those receiving a placebo.[2]
A smaller study of 69 people attending an obesity clinic found that reported emotional eating improved after three months of semaglutide treatment.[3] Because that study had no untreated comparison group, it cannot establish how much of the change was due to the medicine.
These findings matter. They do not tell us what reaching for food means in the life of any particular person.
When comfort becomes a way of coping
Food gives us nourishment, pleasure and comfort. Seeking comfort in food does not mean you have an addiction.
Sometimes, though, a behaviour becomes a familiar way to squash, minimise or push away feelings that seem too uncomfortable or overwhelming to face. I see a possible overlap here with other behaviours people may come to rely on: smoking, drinking, taking drugs, gambling, compulsive shopping, working without pause or seeking out danger.
These behaviours have different effects and risks. Yet, for some people, they can serve a similar purpose: offering relief, distraction or a sense of control when distress feels hard to bear. The relief may be brief, but it is real.
This is central to how I approach addictive behaviour. Rather than beginning with “Why can’t I stop?”, I want to understand “What has this behaviour helped me manage?” I would not assume that every instance of comfort eating is an addiction, or that trauma lies behind every repeated behaviour. I would want to understand the purpose a pattern may have served before asking someone to change it.
Research has found an association between emotional eating and obesity, though it cannot explain any individual’s experience.[4] Research on stress and substance addiction also informs my thinking about why relief from distress can become such a powerful part of a repeated behaviour.[6] Neither finding turns comfort eating into a diagnosis.
My approach to Alexander lessons
My approach to the Alexander Technique is informed by my work as a psychotherapist. For more than 40 years, I have explored with people how physical and emotional responses become part of daily life. My lessons are collaborative, individual and trauma-informed. This is my particular way of working, rather than a description of every Alexander teacher’s lessons.
We might begin with something ordinary, such as sitting, standing or moving. Together, we may notice moments when you tighten, hold your breath or hurry past discomfort. If you want to explore emotional eating, we can become curious about what happens around the urge to eat. What has the day been like? What feels hard to stay with? What does food offer in that moment?
There is no prescribed answer. Sometimes what you need is food. Sometimes another need gradually becomes clearer. We work at a pace that feels manageable for you, without requiring you to revisit painful experiences or focus on bodily sensations that feel uncomfortable.
Research into interventions designed specifically to address emotional eating suggests they may help some people, although results vary.[5] That research does not establish my Alexander lessons as a treatment for emotional eating, addiction or obesity. It does reinforce the value of taking someone’s emotional experience seriously.
Would you like to explore your own patterns?
You do not need to resolve emotional eating before seeking medical advice about semaglutide. Equally, using medication does not prevent you from exploring what comfort, distress and food mean in your life.
If my approach speaks to you, you are welcome to book an Alexander lesson with me or request a free 15-minute conversation. We can discuss what you hope to explore and whether working together feels right for you.
You do not need to arrive with an explanation. We can begin with curiosity.
Anthony Kingsley is an Alexander Technique teacher and psychotherapist at The Alexander Studio in Golders Green, North London.
Research Bibliography
Propfe LE and Seifert R. “Misrepresentation of semaglutide in social media.” Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology. Published online 2025; journal issue 2026. An analysis of social media discussion, including posts about celebrities and Ozempic.
Wharton S, et al. “Two-year effect of semaglutide 2.4 mg on control of eating in adults with overweight/obesity: STEP 5.” Obesity, 2023. Randomised research on semaglutide, cravings and reported control of eating.
Nicolau J, et al. “Short term effects of semaglutide on emotional eating and other abnormal eating patterns among subjects living with obesity.” Physiology & Behavior, 2022. An observational study assessing 69 people before and after three months of treatment.
Vasileiou V and Abbott S. “Emotional eating among adults with healthy weight, overweight and obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 2023. A review of 11 studies involving 7,207 adults.
Smith J, et al. “Emotional Eating Interventions for Adults Living with Overweight or Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2023. A review of interventions addressing emotional eating.
Sinha R. “Chronic Stress, Drug Use, and Vulnerability to Addiction.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2008. A review of stress and vulnerability to drug addiction; it is not a study of emotional eating.
Wilding JPH, et al. “Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity.” New England Journal of Medicine, 2021. A 68-week randomised trial of semaglutide 2.4 mg alongside lifestyle support.
