America is slimming down — one shot at a time.
The number of US adults turning to blockbuster GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy for weight loss has hit a record high, nearly quadrupling in just two years.
Now, the shift is showing up on the scale, with national obesity rates edging lower after years of steady increases.
The eye-popping figures come from a new Gallup survey of 5,065 adults nationwide conducted between May 28 and June 5.
The pollster found that 11% of Americans ages 18 and older are currently taking GLP-1s for weight loss, up from just 3% who reported using them in 2024.
The reach of the medications is even wider: 15% of respondents said they have used the next-generation diabetes and obesity drugs to shed pounds at some point — a nine-percentage-point increase in just two years.
The surge in GLP-1 use coincides with a downturn in the nation’s obesity crisis. After peaking at a record 39.9% in 2022, the adult obesity rate has gradually fallen to 36.4% in 2026.
Meanwhile, the national diabetes rate has held steady after climbing steadily for 15 years.
From diabetes drug to weight-loss wonder
GLP-1s — short for glucagon-like peptide-1 drugs — work by mimicking hormones naturally released by the gut after eating to help regulate blood sugar, appetite and digestion.
The first drug in this class of medications was approved more than two decades ago to treat type 2 diabetes, but GLP-1s didn’t explode in popularity until 2021.
That year, the Food and Drug Administration greenlit Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide-based drug Wegovy as an obesity treatment after clinical trials showed users lost an average of 15% of their body weight over 16 months.
Before that approval, semaglutide was used primarily for blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes under the brand name Ozempic.
In the years since, the market has expanded with new players, including Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide-based Zepbound for weight loss and Mounjaro for diabetes.
Today, name-brand GLP-1s are far more commonly used than compounded versions of semaglutide and tirzepatide, which are often sold through telehealth companies but are not FDA-approved.
But the gap may be narrowing. Gallup found that one-third of people currently taking compounded GLP-1s said they came from an FDA-approved medication, while just 10% made the switch the other way.
Cost and insurance coverage appear to be driving much of that movement. In the survey, people who switched from brand-name GLP-1s to compounded versions were twice as likely to cite affordability or coverage issues as their main reason.
The next frontier of GLP-1s
GLP-1s have been hailed as one of the biggest breakthroughs in weight-loss medicine in decades, and their reach is only expected to grow as more convenient and potentially more powerful versions hit the market.
In December 2025, the FDA approved a daily pill version of Wegovy, giving needle-averse patients the first oral GLP-1 option cleared for obesity treatment.
Then in April, the agency approved another oral weight-loss contender from Eli Lilly: orforglipron, sold under the brand name Foundayo.
The next wave is already on the horizon. Eli Lilly’s once-weekly injectable retatrutide — dubbed “triple G” because it mimics three hormones — is expected to seek FDA approval this year, with early data suggesting it could deliver an even bigger weight-loss punch than earlier GLP-1s.
The drugs’ expanding résumé could also fuel the next wave of growth, as researchers explore uses far beyond weight loss and diabetes.
Already, Wegovy’s label has expanded to include treatment of non-cirrhotic metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a serious liver disease, in adults with moderate to advanced liver fibrosis.
The drug is also approved to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes, in adults with obesity and established heart disease.
Zepbound, meanwhile, became the first and only FDA-approved medication for treating moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea in adults with obesity.
Ozempic is also cleared to reduce the risk of worsening chronic kidney disease in adults with type 2 diabetes.
And the list could keep growing: Researchers are studying GLP-1s for a range of potential uses, including substance use disorders, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and chronic joint pain.
But the drugs aren’t without drawbacks. GLP-1s have been linked to a range of side effects, with the most common including gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation.
For some patients, complications can be serious. GLP-1s have been associated with rare but severe risks, including pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, bowel obstruction, stomach paralysis, acute kidney injury and vision problems.
Patients have also reported challenges tied to rapid weight loss, including loose or sagging skin, muscle loss and the return of or emergence of eating disorder symptoms.
