The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School is preparing a study of whether GLP-1 medicines alter financial decision-making, including responses to gambling-related cues and other temptations.
The study is expected to recruit about 180 participants at Penn’s MindCORE research lab from mid-October through approximately March 2027. CBS News reported the planned research. Noom is funding the project, according to Casino.org.
Participants will answer questions about demographics, mental health and GLP-1 use, then complete a cognitive exercise and MRI tasks concerning food and financial decisions. One task will show 14 images of products, services, experiences and spending opportunities, including the Powerball jackpot and a casino floor. The researchers will omit recognisable brands and logos to avoid familiarity or preference affecting neural responses.
That passive-viewing exercise is designed to contrast practical, need-based purchases with discretionary rewards. In a second task, participants will choose between immediate and delayed payments, such as $20 now or $50 in two months. MRI scans will measure blood-flow and oxygen-level changes as an indicator of which brain regions are activated and how participants value the options.
Researchers plan to deliver the outcome of one participant choice, rather than treating all selections as hypothetical, to encourage truthful preferences. Their central question is whether the subjective value assigned to food and financial options differs between GLP-1 users and non-users.
Michael Platt, a Wharton researcher, has said GLP-1 drugs may ultimately lead to structural brain changes affecting both food choice and financial decisions. He suggested that a dampened reward drive could reduce appetite for risk and exceptionally high returns, while perhaps helping consumers resist impulse purchases and pursue longer-term goals.
The premise rests on an active but unsettled area of research. Boston University experts have said GLP-1-mimicking drugs can reduce dopamine release in reward circuits and that some users have reported less interest in alcohol and nicotine products. They said the drugs may reduce compulsive behaviours such as gambling and online shopping. They cautioned, however, that evidence for reduced gambling and similar compulsive behaviours remains anecdotal, although randomised controlled trials have begun.
A review of gambling-disorder imaging research found that gambling cues are associated with greater arousal and craving, alongside altered activity in prefrontal, limbic and striatal regions. Gambling disorder is classified in the DSM-5 among substance-related and addictive disorders, with features including loss of control and craving or withdrawal.
The Penn project arrives as financial risk-taking remains widespread. A 2026 Northwestern Mutual study found 17% of US adults were actively trading prediction markets and/or sports betting, rising to 32% of Gen Z and 24% of millennials, compared with 3% of boomers. The National Council on Problem Gambling estimates that about 20 million US adults have a gambling problem.
