The US obesity rate keeps declining, but diabetes cases have hit a new high
New findings from a long-running Gallup study also showed a rapid increase in the number of Americans using GLP-1s.
Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic have long had a significant impact on pharma companies’ financials. Now, we’re starting to see GLP-1s affecting America’s health statistics in real time.
On Tuesday, Gallup published updated 2025 figures for obesity and diabetes rates, as part of its ongoing National Health and Well-Being Index. According to the study, the obesity rate among US adults has fallen to 37% in 2025 — down from the record high seen in 2022, when the share sat at 39.9%.
For context, this is the equivalent of there being approximately 7.6 million fewer obese adults (measured by the federal standard of having a BMI of 30 or higher) in America over the course of just three years.
This tracks with another finding: per Gallup, the share of US adults reporting using weight-loss injectable drugs, including semaglutide, has more than doubled to 12.4% since 2024. Underscoring the influence of these drugs, a higher proportion of women taking weight-loss injectables translated to the obesity rate for females falling faster than that seen for male counterparts.
Mixed signaling
However, the study also found that the rate of diabetes cases for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes hit an all-time high of 13.8% of US adults, up from the 11.4% recorded only a decade before.
Because obesity rates typically correspond with diabetes diagnoses, the discrepancy observed between these indicators could exemplify the shortfalls of GLP-1s. While weight-loss drugs have lowered BMI scores, they “should not be considered a cure-all for overall health,” as Gallup states. Still, despite the continued decline, America’s obesity levels remain among the most severe in the world.
