Gallup revises 2026 estimates, reports 11% of US adults use GLP-1s for weight loss
The revised Gallup figures show GLP-1 use still climbing and awareness near universal, while cost and insurance coverage drive a shift toward compounded versions.
Gallup revised its 2026 estimates of GLP-1 use and obesity on Sept. 8, 2026, after changing its survey weighting criteria, reporting that 11% of U.S. adults currently take GLP-1 medications for weight loss and that the adult obesity rate stands at 36.8% [1]. The update revises a report Gallup first published July 7, 2026 [1].
Current use for weight loss rose to 11% in 2026 from 3% in 2024, and 15% of adults say they have used the medicines for weight loss at some point, an increase of nine percentage points [1]. Awareness also climbed: 90% of Americans now know about GLP-1 drugs intended for weight loss, up from 80% in 2024 [1]. Those figures come from a web survey of 5,065 U.S. adults conducted May 28-June 5, 2026, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level [1]. Gallup asked about semaglutide (brand names Ozempic and Wegovy), liraglutide (brand name Saxenda) and tirzepatide (brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound) [1].
The obesity rate peaked at a record 39.9% in 2022 and has gradually fallen to 36.8% so far in 2026, a decline Gallup calls statistically meaningful and says "continues to inversely track" with rising GLP-1 use nationally [1]. The share of adults who report a diabetes diagnosis is 12.8%, the first time it has been under 13% since 2022 [1]. Gallup notes a falling obesity rate would be expected to stabilize, not rapidly reduce, diabetes diagnoses [1]. The obesity and diabetes results are based on 10,091 respondents from two quarters of data collection [1]. Gallup calculates obesity from respondents' self-reported height and weight using the federal standard of a BMI of 30 or higher, and cautions that a "vanity effect" may explain why its estimates run somewhat lower than studies that measure people clinically, though the consistent method still makes the trend useful [1].
Brand-name medicines such as Ozempic or Wegovy account for 66% of current use, compared with 18% for compounded or custom-mixed versions; 13% of users are unsure which type they take [1]. Gallup reports that 38% of compounded users call the drugs "extremely effective," compared with 33% of brand-name users, and that 80% of compounded users and 74% of brand-name users rate the medicine "effective" or "extremely effective" [1]. Gallup adds that margins of error for these subgroups are much larger, reaching plus or minus 10 percentage points for compounded users and up to 5.4 points for all adults [1].
Among current compounded users, 36% switched from a brand-name product, compared with 11% who moved the other way [1]. Of those who switched away from a brand-name drug, 53% cited cost or insurance coverage as their main reason, compared with 38% of those who switched to a brand-name product [1].
Why it matters for patients
About one in nine U.S. adults now reports taking a GLP-1 for weight loss, and nearly everyone has heard of them, so these medications are a routine part of primary care conversations rather than a niche topic [1]. The survey also shows that cost and insurance coverage, not a judgment about which product works better, are the most common reasons people report for leaving a brand-name drug [1]. That matters because the type of product a person uses can change what they are actually taking: 13% of current users could not say whether their medicine is brand-name or compounded [1].
The obesity decline Gallup describes is a population-level pattern reported alongside rising GLP-1 use, not proof that the drugs caused it, and Gallup presents the two trends as tracking together rather than as cause and effect [1]. Gallup also points to earlier findings of a general alignment between GLP-1 use and falling obesity rates across age groups, with the exception of adults 65 and older, for whom reported effectiveness of the drugs is lower [1]. The obesity figures rest on self-reported height and weight, so they are not a substitute for a clinical measurement for any individual [1].
What happens next
Gallup has not said when it will publish its next update to these figures [1]. The most recent GLP-1 survey was fielded May 28-June 5, 2026, and the obesity and diabetes estimates draw on two quarters of data collection [1]. Whether the agency revises these numbers again, and how the weighting change affects comparisons with earlier Gallup releases, has not been disclosed [1].
Sources
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