Map Shows States Where Weight Loss Drugs are Most Popular

Kentucky, Alaska and Alabama are the three states where weight loss drugs are most used, and Hawaii, Arizona and Colorado sit at the other end of the spectrum, a report has revealed. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor analogs are drugs that mimic fullness hormone GLP-1 and have been shown to reduce appetite, slow digestion, help stabilize blood sugar levels and impact metabolism. GLP-1 drugs can be prescribed for type 2 diabetes or obesity, and studies have shown they may be effective against other conditions—from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) to liver disease—often related to their efficacy for weight loss. The drugs have been shown to help people with obesity lose up to 15 percent of their body weight, but come with side effects that mean many struggle to stay on the drugs for long—and weight regain is common for patients who come off the medication. A report by medical marketing company Real Chemistry has revealed who is taking these drugs in the U.S., in terms of geography and demographics. Real Chemistry used data from its IRIS platform, bringing together medical, hospital and pharmacy claims covering more than 300 million U.S. patients over a 10-year period. They found that, while GLP-1s were originally approved for obesity in 2014—using the active ingredient liraglutide, under the brand name Saxenda—claims for the drugs rapidly increased after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the semaglutide-based drug Wegovy for obesity. Before Wegovy, 190,000 people in the U.S. were claiming GLP-1 drugs each month; by August 2024, this number rose beyond 1.8 million. Nationally in the U.S., an average of 1 percent of all patients have taken GLP-1 drugs in the past year. This increases to 4.8 percent of all patients with an obesity diagnosis. The highest rates of GLP-1 medication usage are in the Southeastern and Midwestern states. In the south, more than 1.5 percent of all patients use GLP-1 medications in Kentucky, Alabama, West Virginia and Georgia, and the same is true for Midwestern states of Michigan, South Dakota, North Dakota and Iowa. In Kentucky, the state with the highest levels of GLP-1 drug use, 1.9 percent of all patients take the drugs and 7 percent of patients with an obesity diagnosis. In second place, 1.8 percent of all patients in Alaska take GLP-1 drugs and 14.8 percent of patients with obesity. And third is Alabama, with 1.7 percent on GLP-1s and 6.5 percent of those with obesity. At the other end of the spectrum, Western states dominate, where there are lower rates of obesity in general. Hawaii has the lowest rates of GLP-1 medication usage, with 0.4 percent of patients on the drugs, and 3 percent of patients with obesity taking them. Arizona and Colorado are next; Arizona with 0.5 percent of all patients and 2.3 percent of those with obesity, and Colorado with 0.6 percent and 4.1 percent for the same metrics. The other seven states in the bottom 10 include Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington and Utah. The report uncovered other demographic differences in GLP-1 drug use that may have an influence on these numbers. For instance, white people are most likely to take GLP-1 drugs, more than Asian, black, Native American or Hispanic groups—in that order, with 5.1 percent of white patients with obesity on weight loss drugs compared to just 3.7 percent of Hispanic patients with obesity. There are income differences too. Richer people are more likely to be taking the drugs; patients with obesity who earn more than $250,000 per year are approximately 72 percent more likely to take GLP-1 drugs than those earning $50,000 or less. This is despite the fact that ethnic minorities and lower earners are more likely to develop obesity, in general. Female patients are also more likely to take GLP-1 medication, making up approximately 65 percent of all users nationwide. This figure is relatively similar in each state. Also, age is a factor. Though adults aged 45 to 54 years make up for a sixth of the obesity population in the U.S., they account for nearly a quarter of those taking GLP-1 drugs. Do you have a tip on a food story that Newsweek should be covering? Is there a nutrition concern that's worrying you? Let us know via science@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured in Newsweek.