U.S. Obesity Rate Drops as Use of GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs Surges

Gallup’s latest survey suggests U.S. obesity rates are falling as use of GLP-1 prescription weight-loss drugs rises. Adult obesity reached 39.9% in 2022, but stands at 36.4% this year, a decline Gallup describes as statistically meaningful and the first drop in decades. Meanwhile, 11% of adults say they currently use GLP-1 drugs, compared with 3% in 2024, and 15% report having used them for weight loss at some point - up from 6%. Roughly three-quarters of users rate the medicines effective or extremely effective. The figures align with a long-running public-health goal: reducing obesity and the diseases associated with it, a concern highlighted by the surgeon general in 2001.

The survey links the obesity decline with increased GLP-1 use but does not establish that the drugs caused it. Cost and access remain central issues. Medicare began covering GLP-1s on July 1, which federal health officials frame as a step toward making treatment more affordable. Brand-name medicines such as Ozempic and Wegovy account for 68% of current use; compounded or custom-mixed versions, which are not FDA-approved, account for 19% and are often chosen when branded drugs are too expensive or hard to obtain. Users are increasingly switching from brand-name to compounded products: 35% of compounded-drug users have made that move, compared with 10% switching in the opposite direction. Their lower cost may be expanding access, though the survey’s effectiveness ratings do not show a clear advantage for either category.