US Adult Obesity Rate Falls to 37% as Weight-Loss Drug Use Surges in 2025

Recent data from the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index reveals that the U.S. adult obesity rate has declined from a record high of nearly 40% in 2022 to 37% in 2025, marking the first significant drop in 15 years and representing approximately 7.6 million fewer obese adults nationwide. This decrease coincides with a doubling in the use of injectable GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, with usage rising from 5.8% in early 2024 to 12.4% in 2025, particularly among adults aged 40 to 64 who also showed the largest reductions in obesity. Women have been using these medications at higher rates than men and have experienced greater declines in obesity, with women's obesity rates dropping 3.5 percentage points compared to 2.3 points for men. Despite these improvements in obesity, the prevalence of diabetes has reached an all-time high of 13.8%, likely due to the chronic nature of the disease and other complex factors beyond obesity. The findings suggest that while weight-loss drugs are contributing to a decline in obesity, they have yet to impact the rising trend in diabetes diagnoses. These results highlight a nuanced health landscape where advances in obesity treatment are not immediately reflected in diabetes prevalence trends.