US Obesity Rate Falls as Diabetes Cases Reach All-Time High: Gallup

Diagnoses of diabetes have reached an all-time high of 13.8 percent.

Overweight people walk through Glasgow city center in Scotland on Oct. 10, 2006. Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images

Obesity rates among U.S. adults declined to 37 percent in 2025, while diabetes diagnoses reached an all-time high, analytics company Gallup said in an Oct. 28 statement.

The decline in the obesity rate, down from the “record high” of nearly 40 percent in 2022, translates to about 7.6 million fewer obese adults over the three years, it said.

Gallup had reported a more than 14 percentage point jump in obesity rates between 2008 and 2022. Gallup determined obesity based on the federal standard of a body mass index (BMI) value of 30 or higher. BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters.

Gallup said the use of weight loss injectables aligns with weight loss across groups.

“Over the past year, more Americans have turned to Type 2 antidiabetic GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide (brand names Ozempic and Wegovy) for weight loss purposes. The percentage of adults who report taking this class of medicine specifically for weight loss has increased to 12.4 percent, compared with 5.8 percent in February 2024 when Gallup first measured it,” Gallup said.

GLP-1 drugs work by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone within the human body that makes users feel satiated. These medications regulate appetite and delay gastric emptying, helping in weight loss management.

While Wegovy has been approved for chronic weight loss management by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Ozempic is approved for managing Type 2 diabetes and not explicitly for tackling weight issues. Ozempic is still used for weight loss.

According to Gallup, the largest reduction in obesity rates was seen in the 40–49 and 50–64 age groups, which also reported the highest usage rates of GLP-1 drugs.

“Usage among women (15.2 percent) continues to outpace men (9.7 percent), but both groups have more than doubled their use in the past year,” Gallup said.

Since 2022, obesity rates for women have come down by 3.5 percentage points, higher than the 2.3 percentage point decline among men, it said.

Diabetes Diagnoses

While GLP-1 drug use has surged and adult obesity rates have declined, the rate of diabetes diagnoses has not fallen, according to Gallup.

“Diagnoses of diabetes—a lifetime disease that can be managed but not cured—have now reached an all-time high of 13.8 percent,” it said. “While GLP-1s support weight management, they should not be considered a cure-all for overall health or other disease states.”

Gallup said any improvements in health will likely depend on people establishing healthier lifestyles in addition to using pharmaceutical drugs.

“Gallup’s data from 2023 suggest that U.S. adults have worse health habits and outcomes than they did just four years earlier in 2019. Sustained health progress will likely depend not only on medical innovation but also on rebuilding healthier daily routines that complement pharmacological treatments,” Gallup said.

Gallup’s recent conclusions are based on three surveys of 16,946 U.S. adults conducted online in the first three quarters of this year.

GLP-1 Benefits, Risks

A Jan. 20 study published in the journal Nature Medicine determined that GLP-1 drugs provided a host of health benefits, including a reduced risk of substance abuse and psychotic disorders, neurocognitive disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer’s, several respiratory conditions, seizures, and infectious illnesses.

On the flip side, the drug use was associated with an increased risk of arthritic disorders, hypotension, gastrointestinal disorders, drug-induced pancreatitis, and nephrolithiasis or kidney stones.

In a Jan. 20 statement, the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, whose researchers conducted the study, said the way GLP-1 drugs can potentially affect the kidneys and pancreas is novel. It warned that the adverse effects, though common, could turn out to be “very serious.”

“GLP-1RA drugs can have broad health benefits,” said the study’s senior author, Ziyad Al-Aly. “However, they are not without risks. Our findings underscore the possibility for wider applications for these medications but also highlight important risks that should be carefully monitored in people taking these drugs.”

A December 2024 study published in the journal Obesity Pillars investigated the side effects of GLP-1 medications.

While the drugs were found to demonstrate “significant weight loss outcomes,” common side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and constipation were identified. The study also reported rare serious adverse events, including acute pancreatitis and gallbladder disorders.

The FDA warned in a Sept. 25 statement about unapproved GLP-1 drugs being used for weight loss.

“This can be risky for patients, as unapproved versions do not undergo FDA’s review for safety, effectiveness and quality before they are marketed,” the agency said.

The FDA specifically cited the dangers of compounded versions of GLP-1 drugs, which are created by pharmacists, physicians, or facilities by mixing the ingredients for the medication.

As of July 31, the FDA had received 605 reports of adverse events associated with the compounded versions of semaglutide and 545 reports of adverse events associated with compounded tirzepatide, the agency said.