US obesity rates fall for first time in decade, likely thanks to popular weight-loss drugs

Obesity rates in the United States are finally starting to show a decline, heading in the right direction for the first time in a decade, likely due to the popularity of weight loss drugs like Ozempic.

A new study published in JAMA Health Forum found that obesity numbers began to decline slightly from 46% in 2022 to 45.6% in 2023. While it only shrank by less than half a percentage point, the slight drop is the first drop in recorded in at least a decade.

The study looked at the body mass index of 16.7 million adults in the United States from 2013 to 2023. The average BMI increased each year, peaking at 30.24 in 2022, then suddenly dropped to 30.21 in 2023. A BMI over 30 considered to be fat.

The study authors found that women of most ages and adults aged 66 to 75 saw the greatest reduction in obesity. Participants located in the South, which has the highest distribution rate of weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, also saw a significant decrease.

The secret agent in the reduction may be semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist that powers popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, according to the study’s authors.

The United States saw a 700% increase in the use of these specific brands of weight loss drugs from 2019 to 2023, according to an Annals of Internal Medicine study. Medicines are also used to treat type 2 diabetes, but many others have piled on them for futile purposes rather than their intended medical use.

The sudden drop, however, could also be the result of drastic lifestyle changes that many decided to make following the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was particularly prevalent in the South — the area the study looked at had the highest rate of dispensing weight-loss drugs — as those areas experienced a much higher rate of death from COVID-19 among those with obesity than parts of the South. other countries, according to the study.

The findings show a significant change in obesity in the country, but experts warned that there is no guarantee that the downward trend will continue.

Nearly 60% of obese US adults have high blood pressure and approximately 23% have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People with obesity are at a higher risk for a variety of health problems, including heart and liver disease, on top of a number of chronic conditions.

According to the National Library of Medicine, obesity rates in the United States first began to rise between 1976 and 1980.

Members of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees have had conflicting opinions about how weight-loss drugs, particularly Ozempic, should be made available.

Elon Musk, one of Trump’s closest confidantes and co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, said he supports making drugs like Ozempic cheaper for the public.

But the presidential nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has repeatedly opposed Ozempic in particular, taking issue with its price and claiming that making it available to all obese Americans would cost “$3 trillion a year”.

Trump has not expressed a strong opinion on the use of weight-loss drugs as the debate over its coverage under the administration continues to divide the Republican Party.

While Republicans have struggled to reach a solid deal, President Biden’s administration proposed that Ozempic and Wegovy be covered by Medicaid and Medicare in late November.