Coming Soon: FAIR Health White Paper on Obesity and GLP-1 Drugs

May 15, 2025

FAIR Health will soon release a new white paper on obesity and GLP-1 drugs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is a common and serious disease that affects more than two in five American adults. The World Health Organization reports that obesity increases the risk of such health conditions as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders (e.g., osteoarthritis) and certain cancers. In recent years, a new class of medications for obesity has become available: glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists. In its forthcoming report, FAIR Health delves into its repository of over 51 billion commercial healthcare claim records to examine trends in obesity and GLP-1 drug prescriptions among adult patients during the period 2019-2024.

GLP-1 drugs are analogs of a naturally occurring hormone that stimulates secretion of insulin (a hormone that decreases blood sugar levels), inhibits secretion of glucagon (a hormone that increases blood sugar levels) and inhibits appetite and food intake. The natural hormone is broken down quickly in humans, but GLP-1 drugs are longer lasting. The Food and Drug Administration approved the first GLP-1 drug, Byetta (exenatide), for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in 2005. Since then, other GLP-1 drugs have been introduced, including three approved for weight management in patients who are obese or who are overweight with at least one weight-related comorbid condition: Saxenda (liraglutide; approved 2014), Wegovy (semaglutide; approved 2021) and Zepbound (tirzepatide, a dual GLP-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide [GIP] receptor drug; approved 2023).

GLP-1 drugs are increasingly prescribed. According to one study, from 2020 to 2022, the volume of GLP-1 prescriptions grew 300 percent—and just over half of patients taking a GLP-1 drug in 2022 had a history of type 2 diabetes, suggesting that the rest took it for other indications, including obesity. A poll in 2024 found that 12 percent of adults had taken a GLP-1 drug, and 6 percent were currently taking one.

FAIR Health’s forthcoming white paper focuses on overweight and obesity trends, type 2 diabetes trends, and GLP-1 drugs and other obesity treatment options (including bariatric surgery and behavioral health services).