Summary
Obesity rates in the U.S. have been slowly declining from a high of nearly 40% in 2022 to 37% recently. While some believe that new weight loss drugs may contribute to this trend, experts disagree on their overall impact. Drug use and other factors like physical activity and diet changes are thought to affect obesity rates.
Key Facts
- Obesity in the U.S. decreased from nearly 40% in 2022 to 37% recently.
- The rate of diabetes diagnoses is now at an all-time high of 13.8%.
- Obesity is measured using Body Mass Index (BMI) and a BMI over 30 is considered obese by the CDC.
- Factors like lack of exercise, poor diet, genetics, and stress contribute to obesity risk.
- Gallup data indicates an increase in the use of weight loss drugs, like GLP-1s, by 7 percentage points between 2024 and 2025.
- Use of these drugs is higher among women, and obesity rates have dropped slightly more for women than men since 2022.
- GLP-1 drugs, mainly used for diabetes, are now popular for weight loss.
- Experts are divided about the extent to which these drugs affect the overall obesity trend.
