GLP-1 use hits record high as Medicare opens access to weight-loss drugs

The share of U.S. adults taking GLP-1 medications to lose weight has reached a record 11%.

That's about 40 million people—as many as live in California, the nation's largest state.

A new Medicare program that began July 1 could drive that figure even higher.

Current use of GLP-1s has nearly quadrupled from 3% in 2024, according to Gallup's National Health and Well-Being Index. Its survey of 5,065 adults—conducted May 28–June 5—found that 15% had used the drugs for weight loss at some point.

The medications are sold under brand names such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved semaglutide—the drug in Wegovy—for weight loss in 2021, and rival drugs have since followed.