GLP-1 Drug Use Surges 600% as 2% of Americans Take Weight-Loss Medications (axios.com) 111
An anonymous reader shares a report: More than 2% of Americans are taking the blockbuster class of GLP-1 drugs for overweight or obesity, up nearly 600% over six years, according to a report from FAIR Health given to Axios first. The data from FAIR Health's repository of over 51 billion commercial healthcare claim records shows the explosion in use of the drugs specifically for weight loss -- roughly half of all users.
In all, roughly 4% of Americans were taking GLP-1 drugs in 2024 for either overweight, obesity or Type 2 diabetes (their original approved use). The data shows Novo Nordisk's Ozempic is still by far the most commonly taken GLP-1, followed by Eli Lilly's Mounjaro. The percentage of adults who were prescribed a GLP-1 drug but did not have bariatric surgery increased from 2.5% in 2019 to 11.2% in 2024 while the the percentage of adult patients who had bariatric surgery decreased 41.8%.
In all, roughly 4% of Americans were taking GLP-1 drugs in 2024 for either overweight, obesity or Type 2 diabetes (their original approved use). The data shows Novo Nordisk's Ozempic is still by far the most commonly taken GLP-1, followed by Eli Lilly's Mounjaro. The percentage of adults who were prescribed a GLP-1 drug but did not have bariatric surgery increased from 2.5% in 2019 to 11.2% in 2024 while the the percentage of adult patients who had bariatric surgery decreased 41.8%.
put it in the water (Score:2, Insightful)
make it a national priority to get it into the hands of as many obese americans as we can, the cost savings to the nation would be enormous, more than pay for itself. use the NDA to nationalize the formula, whatever it takes
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GLP-1 is not an appetite suppressant, contrary to popular belief. But sure, put it in the water! That'll work! We can replace fluoride with it.
Re:put it in the water (Score:4, Insightful)
Unfortunately, this theory is easily debunked by the fact that India ranks 3rd in the world for obesity rate, while maintaining one of the worlds highest rates of vegetarianism.
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Cheese doesnt make you fat.
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It does if you eat more cheese calories than you can burn.
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Your stupidity on display, yet again. How can you live so long yet remain so dumb?
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Your stupidity on display, yet again. How can you live so long yet remain so dumb?
You think eating any amount of cheese can't make you fat? Hilariously wrong even if not paired with other foods as cheese usually is.
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Do cheese derived calories not count for some reason? If the only thing you have to lean on is insults and anger rather than any kind of rational explanation, you might not be correct.
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Tell us again how you can consume an insane excess of calories compared to your natural burn rate and not have your body do what it is biologically programmed to do: store said calories? Oh and limit your answer to those which don't include taking drugs.
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Anecdotal, but I certainly know obese vegetarians. The vegetarian diet can be very carb heavy, which isn't great for managing calories and weight. It doesn't have to be carb heavy, but it may take more careful planning to avoid it.
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If people would eat an ethical and responsible plant-based diet combined with exercise they wouldn't need pharmaceutical drugs to deal with their obesity.
If you have time to exercise, you have time to do more work. DO MORE WORK, PLEBE! FUCK YOUR HEALTH!
Please take the corporate sponsored drug to help with the fact you don't have the time to take care of yourself or cook healthy meals. Our partners in pharma thank you for your service. Hopefully the knock-on effects of all those drugs will drain your bank account before killing you.
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Or, maybe it is that the people are lazy, like eating unhealthy food and too much of it. Well, at least the people who get fat. So, if there is a way to be lazy but not fat, great. It would be nice if someone figure out the food equivalent of artificial sweeteners - looks like a burger, tastes like a burger, but has zero calories.
Still, I am not taking it, I can stay somewhat fat.
I Hope That There Are No Delayed Ill Effects (Score:4, Insightful)
I hope that there are no delayed ill effects form these drugs. I don't want to hear that they cause cancer or bonitis. If such a negative effect were found, the injury law ads will drive us all insane.
Re: I Hope That There Are No Delayed Ill Effects (Score:3)
There's already problems, but I'm not taking these because I expect more problems. Being fat is bad but it's not the only bad possibility.
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I'd not touch these drugs with a 10 foot pole.
Fuck it...I'd rather be a little fat....
Re: I Hope That There Are No Delayed Ill Effects (Score:2)
What I need is for it to make everyone else blind so they don't know I'm fat.
Re:I Hope That There Are No Delayed Ill Effects (Score:4, Informative)
The benefits go beyond weight loss:
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If your drinking was moderate, I suspect it wasn't an addiction.
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You clearly haven't taken it. Thanks for the expertise.
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I guess if you find sudden blindness [webmd.com] tolerable....sure.
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Ha! Bonitis.
Such a funny name for a horrible disease. If you go to the future where they have a cure, don't forget to take it!
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Lost 110 on It - Miracle Drug (Score:5, Interesting)
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Most people say it quiets the 'food noise' that causes excessive snacking when you aren't even hungry. Most obese people are hungry all the time - even 30mins after eating thanksgiving dinner they are hungry.
The big thing it does for me, is make me feel fuller faster. So instead of eating 1500 calories, I eat 1000 and be full without much snacking.
and one of the big side effects is it slows down your digestion. Constipation has to be addressed regularly....
It also took my a1c from 7 to 5
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"Most obese people are hungry all the time - even 30mins after eating thanksgiving dinner they are hungry."
Correct, and GLP-1 doesn't necessarily change this.
"and one of the big side effects is it slows down your digestion."
That's the effect, not a side effect.
GLP-1 slows digestion and retains food in the stomach. That MAY alter your appetite, but it may not. It's like saying a steak dinner is an appetite suppressant. A hot fudge sundae will take away your appetite too.
GLP-! slows digestion, that's what
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> GLP-1 slows digestion and retains food in the stomach. That MAY alter your appetite, but it may not.
The effect on the digestion is a less than desirable side effect. There's research to make variants which work only in the brain and less in the gut, which would be more tolerable.
2014:
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors in the brain: controlling food intake and body weight
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/a... [nih.gov]
The peptide hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) enhances glucose-induced insulin secretion and inh
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There's certainly a strong brain & immune component as an appetite suppressant.
https://www.cell.com/cell-meta... [cell.com]
Central glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor activation inhibits Toll-like receptor agonist-induced inflammation
Summary
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) exert anti-inflammatory effects relevant to the chronic complications of type 2 diabetes. Although GLP-1RAs attenuate T cell-mediated gut and systemic inflammation directly through the gut intraepithelial lymphocyte GLP-1R, how
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As someone who's been active and over weight for 30 years, this is a miracle drug. I tried everything from running marathons for five years (put on weight doing it), to working out and nothing helped. I'd loose 20lbs, and put on 30 - lose 30, and put on 40. I estimate I've lost over 250lbs over the last 30 years - unfortunately, I'd gained 350. Meanwhile, lost 110lbs in 2023 on mounjaro.
If you are overweight and running marathons I'd venture a guess you are healthier than the other 99% of overweight people.
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The only recent news tied to these drugs is a report of significant muscle loss. Though Im not sure its a direct cause as much as a result of a loss of appetite. I had to switch from Ozempic to Mounjaro because I could not eat more than 3-4 min on Ozempic before I was completely turned off to the idea of eating. It was hard keeping the protein intake up. Mounjaro doesnt have quite as strong an effect. Ive recently ramped up to 12.5 and just now am beginning to see a similar curb to cravings. I bet they coul
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for a mildly active person you need 0.5g of protein for every 1lb of lean body mass. so if you lean bodyweight is say 150lb you need 75g a day of protein to maintain the muscle you have. if you are fairly active that grows to 1g per 1lb of lean mass. Ozempic keeps you from eating and it can be hard to get 75g a day. Your body will begin tearing down its own muscle to get the protein it needs.
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If you've reached your goal, do you have to keep taking it?
Re: Lost 110 on It - Miracle Drug (Score:2)
Sounds an awful lot like addiction to me. Similar in that you must stay on it to maintain your new weight... maybe just closer to a subscription
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Not a problem for me, so fuck anyone else, amirite?
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The reports of "muscle loss" would be expected in any weight loss program. You also get significant muscle loss from restricting calories. However, combining the drug with strength training should mean your overall body composition improves while on the drug.
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I have sort of the same deal. I hate "exercise" without any real purpose than busy-work, but I still started swimming around 5 years go. I typically swim about 1 km three times a week. I chose swimming because at least you don't sweat while doing that (or rather, it goes directly to the pool) and you get to do different styles to alleviate some of the boredom.
Result: Weight has been exactly the same as before I started, around 100 kg. Bloodwork shows that cholesterol levels and other indicators are much bet
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Cheaper, but not easier.
I'm a "Calories In, Calories out" type guy, but it does seem accurate to say that there is a large percentage of the human population--worldwide--that cannot adapt to modern lifestyle, work types, and food availability. It galls me to say it, but keeping a percentage of the population on appetite suppresants may be the most cost-effective way to control obesity worldwide.
Obesity is skyrocketing around the world. In France, traditionally considered a healthy country, in 2020, 47% of a
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GLP-1 is not an appetite suppressant, but doesn't matter to you, you don't understand weight problems anyway.
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Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucagon-like_peptide-1 [wikipedia.org]
In the stomach, GLP-1 inhibits gastric emptying, acid secretion and motility, which collectively decrease appetite
NIH https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4119845/ [nih.gov]
GLP-1 is of relevance to appetite and weight maintenance because it has actions on the gastrointestinal tract as well as the direct regulation of appetite.
Beyond the scientific facts, if you read anything that people who take these drugs say, you'll find that turning off the "food noise" is perhaps the most central theme. So yeah, GLP-1 drugs do suppress appetite.
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I read through the rest of the comments under this article and I saw your name pop up frequently. I'm sorry you're having such bad weight and health problems, and I hope you're able to make some progress.
News Flash (Score:2)
This may come as a surprise, but significantly more than 2% of Americans are overweight.
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This may come as a surprise, but significantly more than 2% of Americans are overweight.
Or to put it another way there is still vast market share for weight loss drugs still to be exploited.
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This sounds like a good thing (Score:2)
So 4% (Score:2)
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No. You also need to exercise.
Re:"If tastes good, spit it out." - LaLanne (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm not arguing against exercise, but with GLP-1 drugs, you literally do not need to exercise to lose weight.
In my late 20s, I lost about 60 lbs of weight, almost entirely through a small number of dietary changes--zero beverages other than water and unsweetened coffee, zero french fries, zero bagged snack foods, zero going out to eat for lunch. I also practiced intermittent fasting, sporadically, for 24 hours. I didn't change my exercising at all.
Now, since I lost the weight, I've taken up more exercise (bike, jog, lift) and I've maintained a steady weight for almost 15 years now.
Bodybuilders say "abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym." They've got a point.
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I'm not arguing against exercise, but with GLP-1 drugs, you literally do not need to exercise to lose weight.
In my late 20s, I lost about 60 lbs of weight, almost entirely through a small number of dietary changes--zero beverages other than water and unsweetened coffee, zero french fries, zero bagged snack foods, zero going out to eat for lunch. I also practiced intermittent fasting, sporadically, for 24 hours. I didn't change my exercising at all.
Now, since I lost the weight, I've taken up more exercise (bike, jog, lift) and I've maintained a steady weight for almost 15 years now.
Bodybuilders say "abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym." They've got a point.
That has been my approach to weight maintenance. When I get above a certain weight the food goes away for a while and I just live with hunger pains. Some days I can't tolerate it but I can for enough days the weight is gone shortly and I allow myself to increase what I eat again. Exercise definitely has an impact, and seems good for maintenance, but for weight loss it seems less helpful than serious calorie reduction. This approach may not work for everyone, when I'm particularly stressed out it is much
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Yeah, that's what's worked for me in maintenance. I no longer weigh myself every day but I do at least several times a week. If I get too high, I know to slam on the brakes for a couple of days (at least).
My wife, OTOH, she can't do that. Seeing her weight every day emotionally impacts her, and she eats emotionally.
Yes (Score:2)
The things you cut out were all loaded with sugar - the cocaine/crack looking stuff you buy in bags/buckets, and the heroin-looking corn syrup in jars.
Sadly, food companies have been jamming that dope into everything that they can. Us Americans shouldn't have to go out of our way carefully reading nutrition labels (all while doing grams to teaspoons metric conversions) or avoid entire aisles in grocery stores just to avoid weight gain.
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I couldn't agree more. It's a real struggle to avoid crap at grocery stores. If you stick the produce section and the meat sections, you're in good shape. Once you start hitting the prepared foods, the frozen dinners, the candy aisle, the soda aisle, the chips and crackers aisle, it is really very hard to eat healthily.
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Exercise can help moderate weight, but you can be rail thin without any exercise at all. Exercise is still very important, but not because of weight. You need cardio to keep your circulatory system healthy. You need strength training to avoid age-related muscle wasting. Exercise is important for body composition, but your overall body size is determined more by total consumption.
The Fat Vaccine? (Score:2)
Stop eating cookies (Score:2)
Problem solved.
We noticed! (Score:2)
Get Rid of Added Sugar... (Score:3)
About 70% of the food in a US grocery store, and pretty much all food at restaurants, has added sugar (even *salt* has added sugar these days as an "anti-caking" agent...) Stop adding sugar to everything...
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I fear the long term effects (Score:2)
Honestly who wouldn't like to take a pill and be slender again?
Every time I've lost weight, I've gained more back to the point I'm afraid to try. Last time was 10 months, no treeats, swimming a mile every evening after work, going to bed by 9, halving any food I was served. I lost 25lbs to get to 270...and when I thought "ok maybe I can ease up and just maintain" I quickly ballooned 50lbs.
But with these drugs I'm genuinely concerned what the long term effects will be.
OTOH, the long term deleterious effect
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I'm not sure that I would take it just for weight loss, but the anti-diabetic effects have been a godsend for me.
In my case, Ozempic has taken me from needing to inject insulin constantly to not needing insulin at all. Those who've never had to do this have no idea what a pain in the ass* it is. It's not just the injections, it's carrying the paraphernalia -- insulin (making sure it never gets overheated), needles, blood glucose meter and lancets, alcohol pads, emergency meds in case your blood sugar goes T
Re:Pills Won't Stop Your Sin (Score:4, Insightful)
I agree, the policy of shame has done wonder for the obesity problem. [statista.com]
Every problem can be solved that simply also, you just tell people what do to and they go and do it. Never fails. My buddy was playing a game the other night and struggling so I told him "hey, don't play bad, play good instead" and that's all it took.
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Maybe but that's a very recent occurrence and it was temporary at best, being obese still carries quite a bit of social stigma and in a way it should carry some, it is unhealthy and if this treatment can help than why in the living hell would we ever think about shaming people for taking it and doing something about it?
We can maybe shame one end of this, not both, that's ridiculous.
I googled (Score:3)
Anywho they work by regulating a hormone that controls blood sugar and appetite.
So you eat less because you're not always hungry because it's fixing a hormonal imbalance. You ever wonder how you got those people who never get fat? Somebody seems to have figured that out.
There are unlikely to be any long-term side effects because this just fixes a hormonal imbalance.
That hormonal imbalance was probably beneficial a 100 years ago whe
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The picture is a lot more complex and nuanced than you realize. For those who have more than a passing interest I recommend Johann Hari's book "Magic Pill".
One of the most interesting things I've learned about GLP-1 drugs is that they may also improve impulse control disorders, (or maybe other impulse control disorders), and that they may help people who have ADHD.
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I suspect that if our species doesn't descend into a new dark age (which to be fair is looking increasingly likely via techno feudalism) then all the various moral panics and failings that people are constantly screaming about will come down the brain chemistry and be generally corrected.
Basically everything we keep chalking up
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no study has shown anyone able to keep it off after 5.
There are plenty of individuals who have lost weight and kept it off for five years. But it requires a permanent change in both diet and physical activity. You can't "go on a diet" you have to change your diet. And you need to permanently include new activities in your daily life, not get yourself buff.
Your description of "studies" sounds like statistical BS, applying the attributes of a population to the individuals in that population. The studies seem to show that only a small percentage of people who lo
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There are plenty of individuals who have lost weight and kept it off for five years
That may be the case, but its too statistically insignificant to show on any study.
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its too statistically insignificant to show on any study.
Lets be clear, statistics are attributes of populations. The fact that most people don't lose weight is not evidence that someone can't.
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Both can be true, people can keep weight off for 5 years AND there are no studies that show it. It's not even hard to understand how that could be, and what it says is how duplicitous people are that cite such things.
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Of course permanent change is hard ...
Perhaps harder than you know in this case. In addition to the addictive nature of the foods that lead to so much of the obesity we now have, there's pretty strong evidence that what I might call our "industrial diet" leads to long-term changes in the intestinal microbiome. These changes on their own alter how we metabolize food. Restoring a healthy balance of gut flora can be difficult if not impossible, short of a "transpoosion" to force a kind of reboot. With a microbiome damaged by a shitty diet, weight
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This is simple math. If you burn more calories than you take in you will lose weight. End of discussion. You think fat appears out of thin air? It’s excess calories your body is storing for lean times that never happen.
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It's simple math, but it doesn't model what actually happens.
" You think fat appears out of thin air? It’s excess calories your body is storing for lean times that never happen."
Does anyone doubt that? Why in the world do you think that's the important insight? Ever had a weight problem?
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People who don't know what they're talking about like to repeat pithy sayings as if they were wisdom. My favourite is "the chance of death is always 100%."
People who feel the need to add "period" or "end of discussion" are just taking their obvious ignorance and putting giant flashing signs saying "look at me, I'm a dipshit!"
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The overlapping physiological changes that occur with weight loss help explain the near-ubiquitous weight loss time course: early rapid weight loss that stalls after several months, followed by progressive weight regain32. Different interventions result in varying degrees of weight loss and regain, but the overall time courses are similar. As people progressively lose more and more weight, they fight an increasing battle against the biological responses that oppose further weight loss.
Appetite changes likely play a more important role than slowing metabolism in explaining the weight loss plateau since the feedback circuit controlling long-term calorie intake has greater overall strength than the feedback circuit controlling calorie expenditure. Specifically, it has been estimated that for each kilogram of lost weight, calorie expenditure decreases by about 20–30 kcal/d whereas appetite increases by about 100 kcal/d above the baseline level prior to weight loss31. Despite these predictable physiologic phenomena, the typical response of the patient is to blame themselves as lazy or lacking in willpower, sentiments that are often reinforced by healthcare providers, as in the example of Robert, above.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/a... [nih.gov]
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In order for me to maintain my weight (~190lbs give or take 1 to 2 lbs), I have to eat around 800 calories daily. Yes, I know that's su
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I kept it off for 7 once they realized it was tied to low testosterone. Boom! No more metabolic syndrome, no obesity, no diabetes. But then I started making too much red blood cells, had clotting issues, and they took me off. Everything returned in 18mos. Doctors want to act like its my fault. I told them if they put me back on T it would all go away. These other drugs arent moving the needle one bit. They then tell me thst it could kill me. Yet they tell me if my A1c doesnt get under control that will kill
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I was low T and I supplemented. Then I had AFib and my doctor canceled my T. Now I cannot control my weight despite eating only half what I used to. I also have unstable blood sugar and am becoming diabetic.
GLP-1 sucks donkey dicks. The dipshits here have no idea how unpleasant it is. Many doctors won't give it to AFib patients, don't want that profit mixed with any risk.
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Twin studies have consistently shown that genetics account for 40% to 70% of the variation in body mass index (BMI) across individuals (Loos & Yeo, 2022). It is likely that in each person a number of genes contribute to the likelihood of developing obesity in small part, with each gene increasing or decreasing the odds marginally, and together determining how an individual responds to the environmental factors.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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Why is the parent rated insightful? It's simply wrong. Worse, it tells people they have no control over themselves thus implying they should give up trying to lose weight rather than find good information.
Calories in, calories out (CICO) 'works'. It's a law of physics. Matter/energy doesn't randomly appear or disappear. The problem is people have very little control over CO. You lose weight by spending time in a ketogenic state (when your body is pulling energy from your fat stores rather than the glu
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Look at what the pill does. It rewires your brain. This pill is the real deal.
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Amen, bro.
Just like the Romans before the fall, except they substitute the pill for the vomiting.
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Gluttony is a choice and a sin. A fucking pill ain't gonna do shit but propagate it. Irresponsible sheeple crying again and corporate America there to help out.
Yup, your user handle checks out. Zenless indeed.
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Gluttony is a choice and a sin. A fucking pill ain't gonna do shit but propagate it. Irresponsible sheeple crying again and corporate America there to help out.
Quoting on the principle that it might be censor moderation? Or it really deserved the negative moderation as a bad joke that sailed over their heads?
Yeah, I no there won't be any improvements on Slashdot, but it would help to know who the moderators were to see if they have axes to grind. Or may be I should think in hypothetical terms? Many years since I last had a mod point to give, but if I had a precious mod point would I use it to rate that FP funny? Probably not. The story certainly sounded like it ha