15 States With the Most People Taking Weight Loss Drugs — and 5 With the Fewest

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Real Chemistry.

GLP-1 receptor agonists, medications originally developed for managing type 2 diabetes, have rapidly emerged as highly effective treatment options for obesity.

Medications such as semaglutide (branded as Ozempic and Wegovy) work by mimicking a natural hormone that regulates both appetite and blood sugar. These drugs have been shown to facilitate significant weight loss, with many patients shedding 15% or more of their body weight.

The efficacy of GLP-1s has made them a breakthrough not only in managing obesity and diabetes, but also in their potential to treat several related conditions.

Despite their benefits, access to GLP-1 medications remains inequitable. Perceived high costs, inconsistent insurance coverage, and drug shortages have created barriers, limiting who is currently benefiting from these treatments.

For instance, lower-income and minority populations, who are disproportionately affected by obesity, are also the least likely to access these medications.

Using data from Real Chemistry’s IRIS platform, this article examines the use of GLP-1 drugs by state. Learn more about the methodology at the end. Here are the states with the most patients taking a GLP-1 drug.

15. Ohio

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.2%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 4.7%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 4.2%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 5%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 63.9%

14. New York

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.2%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 5.4%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 4.8%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 5.8%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 64.1%

13. Tennessee

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.3%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 5.4%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 4.9%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 5.7%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 65.1%

12. Mississippi

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.3%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 6.3%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 5.8%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 6.6%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 67.7%

11. New Jersey

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.4%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 6.6%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 5.7%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 7.3%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 64.5%

10. Pennsylvania

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.5%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 6.2%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 5.3%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 6.8%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 64.7%

9. lowa

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.5%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 7.1%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 6.5%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 7.5%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 61.2%

8. North Dakota

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.6%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 12%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 11%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 12.8%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 60.8%

7. South Dakota

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.6%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 8%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 7.3%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 8.6%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 60.3%

6. Michigan

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.6%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 5.5%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 4.5%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 6.3%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 65.3%

5. Georgia

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.6%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 7.3%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 6.3%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 8%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 67.9%

4. West Virginia

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.7%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 6%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 5.4%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 6.4%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 64.1%

3. Alabama

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.7%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 6.5%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 5.6%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 7.1%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 67.4%

2. Alaska

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.8%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 14.8%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 12.4%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 16.6%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 65.2%

1. Kentucky

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 1.9%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 7%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 6%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 7.7%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 65.8%

5 States With the Fewest People Taking Weight Loss Drugs

The following states have the fewest people taking a GLP-1 drug for weight loss.

5. New Mexico

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 0.6%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 3.1%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 3.0%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 3.2%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 63.7%

4. Nevada

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 0.6%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 2.6%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 2.6%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 2.6%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 59.1%

3. Colorado

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 0.6%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 4.1%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 3.6%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 4.4%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 64.2%

2. Arizona

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 0.5%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 2.3%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 2.1%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 2.4%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 62.1%

1. Hawaii

• Share of all patients who take a GLP-1: 0.4%
• Share of patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 3%
• Share of male patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 2.9%
• Share of female patients with an obesity diagnosis who take a GLP-1: 3.2%
• Share of GLP-1 users that are female: 58.2%

Methodology

The data used in this study comes from IRIS by Real Chemistry — a proprietary market intelligence platform fueled by billions of data points, including medical, hospital, and pharmacy claims covering more than 300 million U.S. patients over 10 years.

This report also consists of IRIS analysis using numerous other datasets such as social media conversations, paid media spend, earned media coverage, clinical trials, and peer-reviewed publication monitoring.

For this analysis, the population with obesity is defined as those patients with one or more obesity-related diagnostic claims, including BMI-related codes.

The cohort excludes any person with no diagnosis, procedure, or pharmacy claims of any kind in the prior 12 months for stability. It does not exclude people who have a diabetes comorbidity due to significant overlap in populations.

GLP-1 users are defined as patients with an approved claim for at least one of the following GLP-1 medications in the prior 12 months: Mounjaro, Ozempic, Rybelsus, Saxenda, Wegovy, and Zepbound.

Although Mounjaro, Ozempic, and Rybelsus are not FDA-approved for obesity treatment, they are included in the analysis due to the high number of patients with an obesity diagnosis using these products compared to other FDA-approved diabetes GLP-1 agonists.

Patients on Mounjaro, Ozempic, or Rybelsus are only included when they also have an obesity-related diagnosis as described. Saxenda, Wegovy, and Zepbound patients are included regardless of obesity diagnostic claims.

States were ranked based on the percentage of total patients who have an approved claim for a GLP-1 in the 12 months prior to Sept. 30, 2024.

In the event of a tie, the state with the higher percentage of patients with obesity taking a GLP-1 was ranked higher.