Last year, the rate of adult obesity in the United States dropped for the first time in a decade, according to a new study.
The new study found that BMI and obesity prevalence in the county declined in 2023, with the largest decreases seen in the South. The South also recorded the highest usage of GLP-1’s, leading the researchers to speculate whether popular weight loss drugs, like Ozempic, are the primary driver for the obesity trend reversal.
The study, published in JAMA Health Forum on December 13, concluded that between 2022 and 2023, obesity in American adults aged 26-75 dropped 0.15%. Study author Benjamin Rader, scientific director at Boston Children’s Hospital, told USA Today that the seemingly tiny reduction is still significant.
“On the percentage level, the decrease appears quite small … but when you actually look at the population, what that translates to is hundreds of thousands of people who were in an obese category and are no longer in that category… The population impact, we think, is quite big,” he stressed.
The decade spanning 2013 to 2022 saw obesity rates in the United States trending upward. In 2022, numbers began to reverse, with Black women ages 66-75 experiencing the greatest reduction, according to John Brownstein, chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital. This finding tracks with trends around Ozempic usage, with Black women using the medication at higher rates.
Last month, The Dallas Express reported on a Harvard study that concluded more Americans than previously thought are eligible for the popular weight loss drug, semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy. According to the study, 136.8 million Americans meet the criteria, which is over half of all adults in the United States.
Presently, around 12% of adults in the country say they have tried GLP-1’s.
The prevalent weight loss and diabetes drugs have also been shown to offer other potential health benefits. One study found that Ozempic and similar drugs are associated with lower instances of colorectal cancer. In another study, patients on Wegovy recorded a lower risk of heart attacks.
The weight loss drugs have even been linked to a lower chance of developing Alzheimer’s and a reduction in alcohol use disorder.
The CDC says 35.5% of Texas adults suffered from obesity in 2022. Before 2013, no state in the county had crossed the 35% marker. An estimated 17% of children in Texas ages 10 to 17 were also considered obese in 2021-2022, according to the State of Childhood Obesity.
In November, The Dallas Express reported that an enhanced version of Ozempic is in the works from drugmaker Novo Nordisk. Known as CagriSema, the company’s executive president of development, Martin Holst Lange, told analysts earlier this year that he expects future trials to reveal the new drug can help individuals drop upwards of 25% of their body weight.