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By Suzanne Blake
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What's New
For years, American obesity rates have been skyrocketing, but that changed last year when the rate shifted downward for the first time in more than a decade.
Nationally, obesity was down from 46 percent in 2022 to 45.6 percent in 2023.
Read More on U.S.
Across a sample of nearly 17 million adults in a new JAMA Health Forum study, mean population body mass index grew from 2013 to 2021. However, in 2022 obesity rates plateaued before decreasing slightly in 2023.
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Why It Matters
The decline in obesity was especially prevalent in the South, where women and those aged 66 to 75 had lower rates. The study linked some of that decline to the especially high COVID-19 mortality rates among people with obesity in the South.
However, weight loss drugs like Ozempic also played a role. The semaglutide-based drugs have especially high prescription rates in the South, which was a substantial factor in the overall national decline.
What to Know
Ozempic and competitors like Wegovy help with obesity by hormonally reducing a patient's appetite, which leads to lower food consumption and weight loss.
Still, the national drop in obesity wasn't uniform across all groups. While Black Americans saw substantial decreases, obesity rates were higher for Asian Americans.
What People Are Saying
Study co-author John Brownstein told ABC News: "What we're seeing for the first time is that curve is bending and shows a sign of hope for something that was really a threat to American public health for so many years."
Jordan Anthony, a registered dietitian nutritionist and the head of nutrition at Ahara Med told Newsweek: "Ozempic use as well as more people overall focusing on what they eat contributed to the lower rates of obesity over time. More people are reading ingredient labels, trying to avoid ultraprocessed foods and really focusing on finding food products that have more clean ingredients."
He went on: "I'm hopeful that in the coming years obesity rates continue to decline and people have better access to treatment options. A lot needs to be done for obesity levels to drop, like an enhancement in nutrition education, improving food access, encouraging physical activity and helping people build long-term sustainable habits."
For the weight loss drugs to continue to have an impact, they'll need to become more affordable and accessible, Anthony said.
"Ensuring that more individuals—regardless of income or insurance status—can access these various treatments is crucial to supporting progress in reducing obesity rates nationwide," Anthony said.
What's Next
Despite the good news on obesity, it will continue to be a significant health problem in the United States, contributing to high rates of heart disease and diabetes.
While Ozempic and other GLP weight loss medications have surged in popularity, there are continuing concerns about some side effects, such as nausea, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain and other gastrointestinal problems.
Also, many patients have seen their weight loss reverse immediately after getting off the drug. In a 2022 study, patients who stopped taking semaglutide (the generic name for brand products such as Ozempic) regained two-thirds of the weight they initially lost one year out.
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