Gallup survey finds U.S. obesity rate fell after surge in use of weight-loss medications

Weight-loss drugs have driven obesity down from a record high of 39.9% of Americans in 2022 to 37% of adults surveyed this year, the Gallup Poll reported Tuesday.

This reduction translates to 7.6 million fewer adults reporting a body mass index (BMI) of at least 30 over the past three years, according to the polling company.

Meanwhile, this year’s survey also indicated that the share of adults diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes reached a new high of 13.8%. That surpasses the previous 13.6% peak from 2023 in annual polling going back to 2008.

Gallup analysts Dan Witters and Mary Page James noted that the share of adults taking GLP-1 medicines “specifically for weight loss” climbed from 5.8% of those surveyed in February 2024 to 12.4% this year.

“The growing popularity of GLP-1s has led to healthier BMI scores but has not lessened the rate of diabetes diagnoses, which is a lifetime diagnosis,” they wrote in a summary of the findings.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Ozempic as an insulin-boosting treatment for Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90% of adult diabetes cases, in 2017.

Subsequent reports of dramatic weight loss in patients led Novo Nordisk, the Danish company that makes Ozempic, to repackage the appetite-suppressing injection for weight loss.

In 2021, the FDA approved Wegovy, a version of the drug approved for weight loss treatment. Novo Nordisk, which has exclusive rights to sell the drugs in the U.S. through 2031, has spent millions of dollars on lobbying to expand its market.

The FDA approved a rival GLP-1 drug, Mounjaro, as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes in 2022.

Its maker, Eli Lilly & Co., reported an explosion in sales and the FDA approved another drug from Eli Lilly, called Zepbound, for weight loss in November 2023.

According to doctors, the pricey GLP-1 drugs help patients stay thin as long as they use them. However, they do not cure underlying conditions such as obesity. Users must also exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet for the drugs to have maximum effect.

Gallup noted that U.S. obesity rates rose from 2008 to 2022, but dropped each of the past three years as new weight loss treatments gained attention.

Awareness of GLP-1 treatments jumped from 80% of adults in February 2024 to 89% in this year’s survey. Over the same period, usage of GLPs doubled from 5.8% to 12.4% of those participating in the two surveys, reflecting increased knowledge of the drugs.

At the same time, Gallup noted that U.S. health habits and outcomes worsened in surveys from 2019 to 2023, reflecting a growing need for “adequate physical activity” and a diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables.

“Sustained health progress will likely depend not only on medical innovation but also on rebuilding healthier daily routines that complement pharmacological treatments,” Mr. Witters and Ms. James wrote in the summary.

Gallup conducted a randomized national web survey of 16,936 members of a preselected panel on Feb. 18-26, May 27-June 4 and Aug. 26-Sept. 3. The margin of error was plus or minus 2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.