Big food companies in the US are reluctant to list medications on their food products that are meant for weight-loss customers, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Certain new food products are targeted at people taking appetite-suppressing medicines such as Wegovy and Ozempic but manufacturers have regulatory concerns over stating this on the packaging.

Tom Moe, Nestle USA's president of meals, told Reuters that the firm would instead market its Vital Pursuit line of frozen meals on social media.

The weight-loss medications, part of a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, are intended to cut the amount of food that people consume.

From a legal standpoint, referring to the medications could suggest that the food somehow treats or prevents disease, a claim only drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration can make.