GLP-1 Drug Use For Weight Loss Has Soared, Costing Billions
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, April 1, 2025 -- The number of Americans taking cutting-edge weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound has skyrocketed in recent years, a new study says.
The number of people without diabetes taking a GLP-1 drug more than tripled between 2018 and 2022 in the U.S., researchers reported March 31 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Spending on these drugs reached $5.8 billion in 2022, with average prices consistently exceeding $1,500 per prescription, results show.
“Despite this, adoption remained limited, as only 1 in 250 U.S. adults without diabetes used a GLP-1 (drug) in 2022,” wrote the research team led by Michelle Dowsey, an epidemiologist with the University of Melbourne in Australia.
GLP-1 drugs mimic the GLP-1 hormone, which helps control insulin and blood sugar levels, decreases appetite and slows digestion of food.
Initially approved to control diabetes, the drugs’ effectiveness at helping people lose weight led to their later approval for that purpose as well.
For this study, researchers analyzed U.S. federal research data in which people were asked about their GLP-1 prescriptions.
Results showed that among people without diabetes, GLP-1 drug use rose from 0.1% of the population in 2018 to 0.4% in 2022.
That doesn’t seem like a lot, amounting to an estimated 854,000 Americans without diabetes using GLP-1 drugs to lose weight in 2022, but the drugs are costly, and can run close to $1,000 or more a month, researchers found.
As a result, estimated annual spending on GLP-1 drugs among non-diabetics rose from $1.6 billion between 2018 and 2021 to $5.8 billion in 2022, the study showed.
On average, the drugs cost $1,540 per prescription, but patients paid an average of just under $35 out-of-pocket for each prescription.
The study provides the first characterization of nationwide GLP-1 use and spending among individuals without diabetes “to guide ongoing debates about balancing the sustainability of health care spending against improving accessibility and affordability of GLP-1 medications going forward,” researchers concluded.
Sources
- Annals of Internal Medicine, March 31, 2025
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted April 2025
Read this next
Male Virility Affected By Minimal Rises In Blood Sugar, Study Says
MONDAY, July 21, 2025 — Even small increases in blood sugar might put a dent in a man’s virility, a new study says. Minimally elevated blood glucose levels are linked...
Poor Oral Health Potentially Linked To Chronic Health Problems
FRIDAY, July 18, 2025 — Poor dental health could be a harbinger of chronic illnesses like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, a new study warns. People with missing teeth...
Diabetic Women Should Be Asked About Desire For Kids At Every Doctor's Visit, Guidelines Say
FRIDAY, July 18, 2025 — Doctors should ask diabetic women at every visit about their intention to have a child, to make sure they get the appropriate care prior to...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.