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OAN Staff James Meyers
3:03 PM – Friday, December 13, 2024
The U.S. obesity rate declined for the first time in a decade last year, coinciding with the rise of weight loss drugs such as Ozempic, a new study has found.
Data on almost 17 million adults across America showed the obesity rate fell from 46.2% of adults in 2021 to 45.6% in 2023, in a new report published Friday in the journal JAMA Health Forum.
Obesity was defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. The findings showed the biggest decrease in the South, specifically among women and adults 66 to 75.
At the same time, the use of GLP-1 medications such as Wegovy and Zepbound has surged, although the researchers said it’s not possible to confirm a cause-and-effect relationship between the trends.
Obesity was defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above in the report.
The findings showed the biggest decrease in the South, specifically among women and adults aged 66 to 75.
Still, they noted that, “The most notable decrease [in obesity] was in the South, which had the highest observed…dispensing rate,” for GLP-1 medications.
Benjamin Nader, who is an assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School, led the study and published it on December 13th, in the journal JAMA Health Forum.
As Rader’s team noted, “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.”
Meanwhile, sales of the injected medications have increased tremendously, and the results in terms of weight loss have improved.
Additionally, the data included almost 48 million BMI measurements, and a subset of participants were also tracked for their use of any GLP-1 medication.
However, it may still be too early to credit GLP-1 meds with the welcome drop in obesity rates. Rader’s team pointed out that in the South, the pandemic may have played a major role as COVID was more often fatal for individuals.
Still, the overall news for Americans’ health is good.
“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 team wrote.
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