GLP-1 Drug Prescribing Trends Mirror Rise in US Obesity Rates

The landscape of obesity treatment has undergone a dramatic transformation. New data from FAIR Health reveals that over 2% of adult patients now take glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications to treat overweight or obesity—representing a 587% increase since 2019. This surge in GLP-1 prescriptions coincides with a notable decline in bariatric surgery rates, which dropped 42% over the same period.

Drawing from the nation's largest commercial healthcare claims database—over 51 billion records—FAIR Health's recent white paper examines how glucagon-like GLP-1 receptor agonists are reshaping obesity care. The analysis tracks prescription trends, treatment patterns, and demographic shifts among adults from 2019 to 2024.

The short slide show above summarizes key data that will be of interest to primary care clinicians.