GLP-1 drugs are making a dent in the high obesity rate in the U.S. : Shots

The number of people using injectable obesity treatments is increasing rapidly, and it is leading to declines in obesity, according to a new survey by the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index.

The obesity rate dropped to 37% of U.S. adults this year, down from a high of 39.9% three years ago, according to the survey.

The survey found that the number of Americans taking drugs like semaglutide (which include the brands Ozempic and Wegovy) or tirzepatide (under the brands Zepbound and Mounjaro) for weight loss more than doubled over the past year and a half. That’s 12.4% of respondents taking the drugs compared with 5.8% in February 2024, when Gallup first measured it. The new treatments are in a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, and this generation of very effective GLP-1 agonists were approved for obesity treatment in the U.S. market in 2021.

A watershed

GLP-1s, which act on the brain and the body’s hormones to help suppress hunger and slow digestion, are considered a watershed in Americans’ long struggle to address obesity and related diseases. These diseases have persistently and stubbornly increased through the decades, through various dietary trends and public health interventions. Indeed, this index — which asked respondents “Has a doctor or nurse ever told you that you have diabetes?” — found a highest ever rate of diabetes at 13.8%.

Slow change

The survey is one indication that obesity rates may be starting to change, albeit slowly. Since the drugs have come on the market, declines in obesity rates have been higher among those between ages 40 and 64, correlating with a higher reliance on GLP-1 medications for that age group. Use of the medications is highest among those ages 50 to 64, for example, and in that cohort, obesity rates dropped 5.0 points to 42.8%. Similarly, the survey found more women take the drugs, with corresponding greater weight loss compared with men too.

Access issues

These drugs have been a game changer for patients with obesity, but access to the drugs is still limited. Access is poised to become a bigger issue, says Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, a Harvard University obesity specialist.

“I would say this correlation happened for those that had great coverage, but it’s going to be pulled back,” she says, noting that many private insurers — including ones that cover most of her patients — are stopping coverage of GLP-1 medications as of next year. Without coverage, Stanford says, injections will typically cost patients about $500 a month out of pocket. And while drugmakers are working to bring potentially less-expensive pill versions to market, for example, she says it likely still will put the treatments out of reach for many.