In Good Health: Weight Loss Drugs And The Falling Obesity Rate

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🗓️ 9 October 2024

⏱️ 36 minutes

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Summary

For the first time in decades, obesity rates in the U.S. are not on the rise.

The adult obesity rate fell to about 40 percent in 2023, down from 41.9 percent in 2020, according to the latest National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from the CDC.

While the study doesn't pinpoint one sole reason for the change, the timing coincides with the rise of a new class of drugs targeting diabetes and weight loss, like Ozempic and Wegovy.

As part of our series In Good Health, we discuss these new medications and the falling rate of obesity.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	For the first time in over a decade, obesity rates in the US are declining. The adult obesity rate in the US are declining.
0:13.0	The adult obesity rate in the US fell to about 40% in 2023, from 41.9 in 2020, making
0:20.3	this the first time in decades that the obesity rate isn't climbing.
0:24.0	That's according to the latest National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from the CDC.
0:28.9	While the CDC's survey doesn't name one reason alone for the shift, some experts point to the advent of
0:34.5	weight loss drugs like Ozumpic and Wagovey as a factor.
0:38.1	One in eight U.S. adults have taken a GLP1 drug, medications used to treat diabetes and obesity at some point in their lives.
0:45.6	Half of that group, about 6% of the U.S. population, is currently taking a prescription
0:50.0	from this class of drugs.
0:52.0	For this installment of our In Good Health series, we're taking a closer look at obesity
0:56.3	rates in the U.S.
0:58.0	How has obesity treatment changed over the years and what can we learn from the rise of weight
1:02.4	loss drugs? I'm Jen White. You're
1:04.5	listening to the what a podcast where we get to the heart of the story. We'll meet our
1:08.1	panel after the break. Stay with us. Let's meet our panel.
1:15.0	joining us from Boston is Dr. Fatima, Cody Stanford.
1:21.0	She's an obesity medicine specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
1:24.9	She's also an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
1:28.9	Dr. Stanford, welcome to the program.
1:30.8	Thank you so much for having me.
1:31.8	It's a delight to be here today.
1:33.5	Also with us in studio is Julie Rovner.
	...

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