For the first time in a decade, obesity in the U.S. is declining — and a new study suggests it’s because of wildly popular medications such as Ozempic.
The number of obese Americans has been steadily climbing for years, and the country’s average body mass index, or BMI, has been creeping up along with it. But in 2023, something changed: Obesity levels fell to 43.96% from 44.1% the year prior. It’s a small decline, but a meaningful one, researchers say. The biggest change occurred in the South, according to the analysis, which also had the highest concentration of prescriptions written for the drugs.
