Most Americans who want to lose weight don’t want to take GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound, new survey says

GLP-1s, or glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist drugs, are seemingly everywhere. In recent years, this class of weight-loss and Type 2 diabetes medication has become not only a household name but inescapable. Shortages have dominated news headlines, and singsong commercials about the best online GLP-1 programs have taken over airwaves. GLP-1s have gone so far as to disrupt the food, clothing, and, of course, weight-loss industries. Yet despite the ubiquitousness of injectable drugs indicated for people with obesity—such as Wegovy (semaglutide), Zepbound (tirzepatide), and Saxenda (liraglutide)—most Americans wouldn’t take them, according to a new survey. The nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine teamed up with business intelligence firm Morning Consult to survey more than 2,200 U.S. adults about weight-loss methods. Results of the poll, conducted in September, were released Oct. 8. People were asked to rate their level of agreement with this statement: “If I wanted to lose weight, I would rather take an injectable weight-loss drug, rather than make a diet change.” More than half (62%) disagreed, with 14% reporting the statement didn’t apply to them because they don’t need to lose weight. Nearly three-fourths (73%) of applicable respondents disagreed. Among people who were interested in weight loss, these groups most strongly disagreed: Men: 75% Baby boomers: 78% Asian or “other”: 77% Postgraduate-degree holders: 79% Household income exceeds $100K: 78% Urban dwellers: 75% Northeasterners: 77% Registered voters: 73% Independent voters: 74% “The new findings do not mean that Americans do not want to lose weight,” PCRM president Dr. Neal Barnard said in a news release about the survey. “Rather, most would prefer to change their eating habits than inject a medication.” !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r