The new generation of safe and effective weight loss drugs seems to have helped boost the US profile of such medications and has fueled interest in nearly half the US adult population.
A recent survey of more than 1000 US adults showed that 18% were "somewhat interested" in taking a "safe, effective" weight loss drug, 27% were "very interested," and 4% said they were already using such an agent, together constituting 49% of the surveyed adults.
The newer, more potent and generally safe agents that work by stimulating receptors to nutrient-stimulated hormones, such as incretins like glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), seem to drive this interest.
When asked, "How much have you heard, if anything, about a new class of drugs being used for weight loss, such as Ozempic, [semaglutide formulated and approved for people with type 2 diabetes], Wegovy, [semaglutide for weight loss], and Mounjaro, [tirzepatide, currently only approved for treating people with type 2 diabetes]?" 43% said they had heard some, or a lot, about these agents.
This was particularly true among people at least 65 years old, who had a 55% prevalence of knowing some, or a lot, about these new weight-loss agents, while an additional 26% had heard at least "a little" about them, reported staff members of KFF (formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation) in a report posted online in early August.
Weight-Loss Drugs Garner 'Increasing' Attention
"A new class of prescription drugs, initially developed to treat type 2 diabetes, have been garnering an increasing amount of attention due to their ability to act as highly effective weight-loss drugs for overweight or obese adults," write the report’s authors.
However, surveyed interest fell markedly when respondents answered further questions that hinged on certain limitations of the newer weight-loss formulations.
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