The number of adults who were prescribed a GLP-1 drug for weight loss surged to just over 2% last year, representing a 587% increase in five years, according to a white paper from FAIR Health.

The independent, non-profit organization examined more than 51 billion commercial health care claim records to determine trends in obesity and GLP-1 drug prescriptions among adult patients between 2019 and 2024. This study focused on trends in diagnosis of overweight, obesity and type 2 diabetes, as well as GLP-1 drugs and other obesity treatment options (including bariatric surgery and behavioral health services). Among the key findings:

• The percentage of adult patients with a diagnosis of overweight or obesity increased from 10.4% in 2019 to 15.7% in 2024, a relative increase of 50.7%. However, many adult patients who are overweight or obese may not have received a medical diagnosis of their condition.
• Among all adult patients prescribed a GLP-1 drug, the percentage who had an overweight or obesity diagnosis and no type 2 diabetes diagnosis increased from 3.7% in 2019 to 16.5% in 2024, a relative increase of 344.4%.
• Diagnoses of pancreatitis increased from 0.17% in the year before the first GLP-1 drug prescription to 0.31% in the year after for patients who did not have a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. This was an increase of more than 80%, the largest percent increase among the co-occurring diagnoses examined.
• Among all adult patients with an overweight or obesity diagnosis, the percentage who were prescribed a GLP-1 drug but did not have bariatric surgery increased from 2.5% in 2019 to 11.2% in 2024, a relative increase of 339.5%.
• In 2024, more than 80% of patients with an overweight or obesity diagnosis did not receive a GLP-1 prescription, bariatric surgery or behavioral health service. Only 11.2% of such patients received a GLP-1 prescription, 6.3% received behavioral health services and 0.28% had bariatric surgery.
• The use of behavioral health services decreased dramatically for patients prescribed GLP-1 drugs during the study period. Of all patients with an overweight or obesity diagnosis who were prescribed a GLP-1 drug, the percentage who had behavioral health services related to their condition declined from 2019 to 2024. In 2019, 47.2% of such patients had behavioral health services, but in 2024, only 12.4% of patients did, a relative decrease of 73.7%.