The U.S. weight problems price declined for the primary time in a decade final 12 months, coinciding with the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss meds, a brand new research finds.
Information on virtually 17 million adults nationwide confirmed the weight problems price —which has been rising for years—fell from 46.2% of adults in 2021 to 45.6% in 2023, Harvard College researchers report.
Weight problems was outlined as having a physique mass index (BMI) of 30 or above.
On the identical time, the usage of GLP-1 medicines like Wegovy and Zepbound has surged, though the researchers mentioned it isn’t potential to verify a cause-and-effect relationship between the tendencies.
Nonetheless, they famous that, “The most notable decrease [in obesity] was in the South, which had the highest observed…dispensing rate,” for GLP-1 medicines.
The research was led by Benjamin Rader, an assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical College, and printed Dec. 13 within the journal JAMA Well being Discussion board.
As Rader’s crew famous, “the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. has increased for several decades. Some long-term forecasts estimate that this upward trajectory will continue, while others forecast a plateau.”
The introduction of GLP-1 meds like semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) into {the marketplace} has been a maybe surprising new issue lately, nonetheless.
Gross sales of the injected medicines have soared, and the outcomes by way of weight reduction have usually been spectacular. The medication work by mimicking a hormone within the gut that, amongst different issues, helps of us really feel full.
The brand new research tracked medical insurance information from 2013 by way of 2023 on virtually 17 million adults, most between the ages of 26 and 75. The information included virtually 48 million BMI measurements, and a subset of contributors had been additionally tracked for his or her use of any GLP-1 medicine.
Common grownup BMI in the US charted a gradual however regular rise from 2013 (29.65 BMI) to 2021 (30.23), earlier than leveling out in 2022 (30.24), the crew mentioned.
However then in 2023, common BMI dipped to 30.21—the primary decline in a decade, based on Rader’s crew. The proportion of Individuals who had been overweight additionally declined barely that 12 months.
Declines had been steepest within the South and amongst older folks (ages 66 to 75), the analysis confirmed. The speed of weight problems amongst ladies fell extra sharply than amongst males.
It is too early to credit score GLP-1 meds with the welcome drop in weight problems charges. Rader’s crew identified that, within the South, particularly, the pandemic could have additionally performed a job, since COVID was extra usually deadly for overweight people.
“While obesity remains a considerable public health concern, the observed reductions in obesity prevalence suggest an encouraging reversal from long-standing prior increases,” Rader and crew wrote.
Extra data:
Discover out extra about GLP-1 meds on the Cleveland Clinic.
Benjamin Rader et al, Adjustments in Grownup Weight problems Tendencies within the US, JAMA Well being Discussion board (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.3685
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U.S. grownup weight problems price fell in 2023, as use of GLP-1 meds rose (2024, December 13)
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