In the United Kingdom, the government is hoping weight loss drugs might improve public finances, eyeing their use to help unemployed people re-enter the workforce and ultimately save money on health care.

Research shows that 1 in 8 adults in the US has used one of the popular GLP-1 medications, most of them trying to manage chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease and others to help them lose weight.

Researchers looked at the health records of 17 million Americans with obesity and determined that between 2022 and 2023, rates of bariatric surgeries dropped by 25%, while prescriptions for weight-loss drugs more than doubled.

"For healthcare providers, these findings suggest that anti-obesity medications may offer dual benefits," one doctor reports of the research.

Medically reviewed by Danielle Weiss, MD After losing extra pounds on Ozempic (semaglutide), some are finding themselves dealing with an unexpected issue, what's become known as "Ozempic breasts." This possible side effect of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonist medication users like Ozempic,

Over the past year, the question has been coming in from everywhere – from my patients and family members, from colleagues and passengers I chatted with on airplanes: Is Ozempic right for me? Or any of the blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs that recently caught the world’s attention?