New weight-loss medications like semaglutide may be contributing to the United States’ obesity rates finally declining for the first time in more than ten years.
According to a recent research that was published on Friday in the journal JAMA Health Forum, the prevalence of obesity decreased somewhat from 46% in 2022 to 45.6% in 2023. This is the first decrease in at least ten years, even if it is just a tiny one.
“What we’re seeing for the first time is that curve is bending and shows a sign of hope for something that was really a threat to American public health for so many years,” said John Brownstein,
A professor at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the study and writer for ABC News. Brownstein is also the chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital.
The research examined 16.7 million adult Americans’ body mass indices (BMIs), a gauge of obesity, across a ten-year span.
The average BMI increased yearly to 30.24, which is regarded as obese, until 2022, when it plateaued, and then slightly decreased to 30.21 in 2023.
