US obesity rates drop for the first time in a decade likely due to popular weight loss medications

Obesity rates in the United States have finally started 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 started to drop slightly from 46% in 2022 to 45.6% in 2023. While only shrinking by less than a half percentage point, the slight downturn is the first drop 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 rose every year, capping off at 30.24 in 2022, then suddenly dropped to 30.21 in 2023. A BMI above 30 is considered to be obese.

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

The secret agent in the decrease might be semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist that fuels popular weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, according to the study authors.

The US 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. The drugs are also used to treat type 2 diabetes, but many others have flocked to them for vanity purposes rather than their intended medicinal use.

The sudden decrease, however, might also be a result of drastic lifestyle changes many decided to make following the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was especially prevalent in the South — the area that the study observed had the highest dispensing rate of weight loss drugs — as those areas experienced a much higher COVID-19 mortality rate among those with obesity than other parts of the country, according to the study.

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

Nearly 60% of US adults with obesity 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 slew of health problems, including heart and liver disease on top of a multitude of chronic conditions.

Obesity rates in the United States originally started to rise between 1976 and 1980, according to the National Library of Medicine.