Health analytics group EPIC Research recently released new data showing that the use of GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs in the United States has risen sharply in recent years. At the same time, the country's obesity rate has shown a small but steady decline. The researchers added that although it is still too early to draw firm conclusions, the growing use of GLP-1 drugs could eventually help reduce obesity rates nationwide.
Epic Systems develops software used by hospitals and healthcare providers to manage electronic medical records. Its large database, called COSMOS, includes information from more than 300 million patient records collected from thousands of hospitals and clinics in the U.S. and other countries.
For the study, EPIC Research used this data to track national health trends, including infectious diseases and the growing use of GLP-1 medications. According to the latest data, prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs among U.S. adults increased more than four times between the second quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2026. Prescriptions rose from 1,884 to 8,819 per 100,000 patients during that period.
At the same time, the percentage of people with obesity in the database fell slightly from 42% to 41%. Among people who had previously used GLP-1 drugs, the obesity rate dropped more noticeably, from 75% to 69%.
Researchers noted that the data may not fully represent the entire U.S. population, but it matches other national trends. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previously estimated that about 40% of Americans had obesity between 2021 and 2023. Last year, the agency also reported a decline in adult obesity rates between 2023 and 2024.
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