Weight disappearance

A higher than previously estimated percentage of US adults have used or are currently using injectable weight loss drugs. Data from health care analytics provider IQVIA suggests approximately 1.4 million US adults were taking injectable weight loss drugs in May this year, up from around 0.9 million a year ago. Now US pollster Gallup finds a figure twice as high with 3% of US adults currently using injectable weight loss drugs. This could be explained by the IQVIA data excluding sales from compounding pharmacies, which have been granted permission to temporarily sell patent-protected weight loss drugs while shortages exist. Also, there could be a gray market with people importing weight loss drugs from outside the US as prices are much lower abroad. It is likely that usage of weight loss drugs will increase given their effectiveness and safety. In the Gallup poll, 64% of respondents who had used these drugs said they were ‘extremely effective’ or ‘effective’.

Source: Gallup, May 2024.