Health
Rise of weight-loss pills could drive down the cost of airplane tickets
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Airfare could become cheaper due to people slimming down, a new theory suggests.
Analysts at Jeffries are predicting that the expanded use of GLP-1 obesity drugs may reduce fuel consumption, which could translate into lower costs for airplane tickets, as Fox Business has reported.
The Wall Street firm suggested that a 10% reduction in average passenger weight could lead to about a 2% savings in aircraft weight, 1.5% lower fuel costs and a 4% boost to earnings per share.
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“A slimmer society = lower fuel consumption,” Jeffries reportedly wrote in a note to clients. “Airlines have a history of being vigilant around aircraft weight savings, from olives (pitless, of course) to paper stock.”
These predictions come as weight-loss drug options are growing and the first GLP-1 pill has hit the market, making the medication more accessible.
Jeffries predicts that a 10% reduction in average passenger weight could lower flight costs. (iStock)
Gary Leff, a Texas-based travel industry expert and author of the blog “View From the Wing,” elaborated on this prediction in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“The heavier something is, the more fuel it burns,” he said. “If passengers weigh less, planes require less fuel to fly. If everyone went to the bathroom before they flew, they’d weigh less and burn less fuel, too.”
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“So, if average passenger weight declines, then flying the same plane on the same route will cost the airline less to operate,” he went on. “And in the most contestable markets, that will bring down fares, too, as airlines compete for passengers.”
Leff suggested that this won’t be true in all markets. Where the “supply of flights is constrained,” like in major cities, these lower costs are more likely to benefit the airlines than the passengers, as “costs fall, but fares do not.”
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From a clinical perspective, Dr. Krishna Vyas, a plastic surgeon in New York City, noted that under current conditions, the use of GLP-1 medications is “too limited, too uneven and too short-lived to meaningfully lower average passenger weight at a population level.”
GLP-1 drug use is “too limited” to “meaningfully lower” average passenger weight at a population level, according to an expert. (iStock)
“Most patients discontinue therapy within one to two years, and weight regain after stopping treatment is common, making durable, large-scale reductions in passenger mass unlikely,” he told Fox News Digital. “Even if modest fuel savings were realized, there is no evidence they would translate into lower ticket prices.”
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“GLP-1 medications represent a significant medical advance for individual cardiometabolic health, but extending their benefits to speculative effects on airline economics goes beyond what current clinical and population data support,” Vyas continued.
“Until broader access, durable adherence and sustained population-level outcomes are demonstrated, cheaper airfare should be viewed as a theoretical possibility — not a predictable consequence — of weight-loss drug use.”
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Dr. Peter Balazs, a hormone and weight loss specialist in New York and New Jersey, discussed how GLP-1s could potentially impact the in-flight experience.
“Patients on GLP-1s experience reduced cravings for carbohydrates and a heightened preference for protein and fats,” he said. “Airlines may need to reconsider in-flight menus to cater to this growing demographic, offering more high-protein, low-carb options.”
“Airlines may need to reconsider in-flight menus to cater to this growing demographic, offering more high-protein, low-carb options.” (iStock)
Balazs noted that weight-loss medications can lead to gastrointestinal side effects, including GERD, dyspepsia, nausea and vomiting.
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“From a medical standpoint, I would suggest loading up on antiemetics (medications that prevent or relieve nausea and vomiting),” Balazs shared as advice to the airlines. “Furthermore, I would counsel patients not to initiate therapy or administer a first dose shortly before a flight to avoid severe side effects at altitude.”
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At 75, Jane Seymour isn’t fighting the years under her belt — she’s leaning into them. The former Bond girl in “Live and Let Die” and star of “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” has a simple outlook on aging: She’s just grateful for the opportunity.
Her perspective shifted radically in her 40s after a near-death experience involving anaphylactic shock, according to an interview the actress did with Women’s Health.
“I remember looking at my body from above and thinking, ‘That’s your vehicle. I am responsible for taking care of this car,’” Seymour recalled.
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The actress shared the following four key habits she uses to navigate her 70s with vitality.
1. Embrace a positive attitude
Seymour’s perspective shifted in her 40s after a near-death experience involving anaphylactic shock, she told Women’s Health. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation)
For Seymour, the mental game of aging is just as important as the physical. She said she approaches every day with a sense of optimism, which she describes as “getting up and not giving up.”
In a recent interview with Future of Personal Health, Seymour said that being depressed over lost youth is “redundant.” Instead of mourning the past, she embraces the present.
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“You were 20, and you had whatever that experience was,” she said. “Now, maybe you’re 70, and it’s a whole new world.”
2. Know your body
Seymour’s fitness routine is built on consistency rather than intensity, she shared. The actress aims to work out at least three times a week, but refuses to push herself to the point of injury.
“You were 20, and you had whatever that experience was,” she said. “Now, maybe you’re 70, and it’s a whole new world.” (Jane Seymour/Instagram)
“I listen to my body,” she told Women’s Health. “I’m not going to overdo it.”
Seymour’s workouts focus on strengthening her core, arms and legs. While her preference is the reformer (a Pilates machine), she is highly adaptable.
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When traveling without workout equipment, Seymour said she performs bodyweight exercises, even doing incline press-ups against a kitchen counter.
“I’m not going to pretend I’m 20 when I’m 70,” she said. “I’m going to be the best I can be at the age I am.”
3. Nourish your body
Rather than fighting the natural signs of a life well-lived, Seymour said she views her appearance as a professional asset.
Seymour focuses on a rigorous skincare and nutritional routine to maintain the “vehicle” she was given, she said. (Emma Mcintyre/Getty Images)
“I’m not chasing wrinkles,” she added. “My laugh lines and even my frown lines are useful in my work – they’re part of my toolkit.”
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The actress said she focuses on a rigorous skincare and nutritional routine to maintain the “vehicle” she was given.
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This includes a daily regimen of exfoliation and hydration, alongside a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
“I’m going to be the best I can be at the age I am.”
When her filming schedule makes fresh meals difficult, Seymour supplements with antioxidant blends to ensure there are “no nutritional gaps,” aiming for a holistic balance that allows her to “think sharper and move stronger.”
4. Nourish your mind
Perhaps the most profound tool in Seymour’s toolkit, she said, is her commitment to purpose. Inspired by her mother, a survivor of WWII concentration camps, Seymour believes that longevity is tied to how much one gives back to the world.
Seymour, inspired by her mother, a survivor of WWII concentration camps, created Open Hearts Foundation to give back to the community. (Jane Seymour/Instagram)
“My mother always said there’s someone worse off than you, and you can find purpose by helping others – listening and making them feel heard,” she shared.
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This philosophy led Seymour to found the Open Hearts Foundation, a nonprofit that empowers others through grant-making and volunteerism.
“That’s the best way to end the day — knowing it wasn’t wasted.”
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The idea that aging is a steady, predictable process is being challenged by a new book, which describes a so-called “flicker stage” where some aspects of aging may briefly reverse.
Stuart Kaplan and Marcus Riley, authors of the book “Your Aging Advantage,” say aging may be more fluid than chronological age alone would suggest. They call this phenomenon the “flicker stage,” just one of seven stages of aging.
The “flicker stage” suggests functional age isn’t fixed, with people shifting between levels of youth and vitality based on lifestyle and mindset, the authors state.
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Periods of feeling significantly younger, followed by times of feeling one’s age, may reflect what the authors describe as the “flicker stage.”
Riley said healthier aging involves “flickering back” to a younger state, noting that while stress or setbacks can make people feel older, those shifts aren’t permanent.
The secret to aging healthier is learning how to “flicker back” to a younger state when life pushes you forward, the authors said. (Milan Markovic/iStock)
“Through positive interventions, we have the ability to flicker back to the stage of age we want to be in … these setbacks or unforeseen circumstances might propel us to a different stage of aging, but we have this ability to flip it back through positive intervention.”
“Aging or growing older is [not] a problem to fix… it’s an opportunity to be seized.”
Riley said this requires identifying personal “flicker triggers” — physical, psychological, social or environmental shifts that help reset one’s pace, such as exercise or renewed social connection.
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Most people already live with a “feels-like” age that doesn’t match their chronological age, said Kaplan, comparing it to a weather report.
“In the summertime, the weatherperson might say it’s 85 degrees outside, but with the humidity, it feels like 95… The feels-like age is the lived age, as compared to the chronological age or the age on your birth certificate.”
The authors suggest that engaging in your community is one way to activate the flicker stage. (iStock)
Focusing on the “lived age” may allow people to intentionally shift into a younger stage, according to the authors.
Instead of “aging in place,” which focuses on where one lives, they suggest focusing on “aging on pace.”
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“It’s more about what’s important to us on a personal level… do we want to stay in employment and work for as long as we can? Do we want to be shifting gears… and pursuing other interests and pastimes that are important to us?” Riley asked.
Kaplan said the common focus on age 65 as a point of decline reflects a socially imposed retirement benchmark, not a biological marker.
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“It comes from the Social Security Act that was created in 1935 in the United States. And here we are 90 years later, and we’re still thinking that 65 is an important age…. We didn’t use the word retirement back then. I mean, have you ever seen a farmer back in the 1800s… that says, ‘Oh, we’re going to retire because Grandpa is now going to be 62 or 65 years old?’”
The flicker effect works best when you stop viewing aging as a “downhill” perspective, the experts said. (iStock)
The flicker effect works best when you stop viewing aging as a “downhill” perspective, Riley and Kaplan said.
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Even after a health setback shifts someone into a later stage, maintaining a positive and active approach may help move them back toward an earlier stage of aging, according to the authors.
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Ultimately, the goal is to stop seeing the passage of time as a problem to be solved, Riley said.
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“Aging or growing older is [not] a problem to fix.… We want the mindset [that] it’s an opportunity to be seized.”
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