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Ozempic statistics 2026

How many people are using Ozempic in 2026?
Sarah Bradley writer headshot
By and | Updated on Jun. 5, 2026 Medically reviewed by Anne Jacobson, MD, MPH

Key takeaways

  • Ozempic (semaglutide) is an injectable medication intended to treat Type 2 diabetes. It lowers blood sugar and reduces appetite, so it also results in weight loss.

  • Ozempic lowers blood sugar levels by an average of 1.5% in most people, helping bring their A1C to the recommended 7% or less. It also helps people lose an average of 12% to 15% of their body weight.

  • Since semaglutide was approved by the FDA for weight loss in 2021, the number of people taking it as either brand-name Ozempic or Wegovy has skyrocketed. About 12% of Americans report currently taking a GLP-1 drug like Ozempic.

In this article:

It seems like you can’t turn on the news, scroll through social media, or even talk to your neighbor these days without hearing about Ozempic, an injectable GLP-1 drug that’s intended to treat Type 2 diabetes but also causes weight loss and reduces cardiovascular risk in people with heart disease. Whether Ozempic is a miracle drug or a passing trend remains up for debate, but its popularity at this point in time is clear. Learn more about how well Ozempic works, how many people are taking it, and just how much money Americans spend on semaglutide annually.

How many people have Type 2 diabetes?

  • More than 38 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes. That’s more than 11% of the population. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2026) 
  • The number of Americans with diabetes mirrors the worldwide prevalence: About 12% of people globally have diabetes, though a small percentage have Type 1, not Type 2 diabetes. (International Diabetes Federation, 2025)
  • Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 95% of all cases of diabetes. (National, CDC, 2026) 
  • The risk of developing Type 2 diabetes increases with age. More than 28% of people 65 and older have been diagnosed. (CDC, 2026) 
  • Nearly 15,000 children under the age of 18 are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes each year. (ADA) 

How many people are overweight?

  • Globally, about 2.5 billion adults and 390 million children under the age of 18 are overweight or have obesity. (World Health Organization (WHO), 2024)
  • In the U.S., about 72% of adults aged 20 and older are overweight or have obesity. (Obesity, CDC, 2026)
  • In 2017–2018, around 84% of U.S. men were overweight or had obesity compared to 81% of U.S. women. (CDC, 2021)
  • Experts estimate half the world’s population will be overweight or have obesity by 2035. (World Obesity Day)

How many people have obesity?

  • Around 890 million adults and 160 million children under age 18 have obesity (a BMI of 30 or higher) worldwide. (WHO, 2025)
  • In the U.S., around 40% of adults aged 20 and older and 20% of children under age 19 have obesity. (National, CDC, 2026)
  • In about half of all U.S. states, between 25%–35% of people have obesity. In the other half, obesity rates are higher than 35%. Obesity is more common in midwestern and southern states, with Mississippi and West Virginia having obesity rates over 40%. (CDC, 2025)

“Although those numbers are high, obesity rates in 2023 actually declined for the first time in years,” says Richa Mittal, MD, an obesity medicine and weight loss specialist in Dallas, Texas. This includes the South, which has had some of the highest obesity rates in the country. (JAMA Health Forum, 2024)

How many people use GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic?

  • About 12% of adults in the U.S. say they currently take a GLP-1 drug like Ozempic. (Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), 2025)  
  • The percentage of U.S. adults taking a GLP-1 drug like Ozempic doubled between 2023 and 2025. (KFF, 2025)
  •  In 2025, nearly 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. reported having tried a GLP-1 drug like Ozempic. (KFF, 2025)
  • As many as 75% of those people also report discontinuing the use of the drug within one year, for reasons not totally known yet to researchers. (Northwestern, 2024)
  • One survey found that 14% stopped taking GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic due to high costs, 13% stopped due to side effects, and 5% stopped because their health improved. (KFF, 2025)
  • Most people prescribed GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic are women aged 50 to 64. (KFF, 2025)

How many people use GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic for Type 2 diabetes?

  • Around 45% of U.S. adults with Type 2 diabetes report taking GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic. (KFF, 2025)
  • Ozempic is the most commonly prescribed first-time GLP-1 drug for treating Type 2 diabetes. However, tirzepatide is now the most commonly prescribed medication for diabetes. (Trueveta, 2026)

How many people use Ozempic for weight loss?

  • Around 30% of U.S. adults who have used a GLP-1 drug like Ozempic say it was for weight loss and not a chronic health condition like diabetes or heart disease. However, this number is lower for adults over 65: Only 2% of these users have taken a GLP-1 for weight loss alone. (KFF, 2025) 
  • One study found that semaglutide is second only to tirzepatide for GLP-1 drugs prescribed for weight loss. (Truveta, 2026)
  • Ozempic was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017 for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. At that point, the drug was not a household name. 
  • In 2020, the FDA approved Ozempic for reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death in adults with Type 2 diabetes with known heart disease.
  • In 2021, the FDA approved a higher dose of semaglutide, Wegovy, for use in treating obesity. (Indiana University, 2024) “This triggered a sudden increase in semaglutide’s popularity,” Dr. Mittal says. “TikTok trends, celebrity endorsements, and what seemed like real results quickly made it a sought-after weight loss solution.”
  • As the number of people taking Ozempic or Wegovy to lose weight quickly increased, the supply couldn’t keep up with demand. Ozempic shortages made the news, introducing even more people to the drug and its potential benefits for weight loss.
  • In January 2025, the FDA approved Ozempic for reducing the risk of worsening kidney disease and cardiovascular death in adults with Type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
  • Between March 2025 and June 2025, semaglutide prescriptions for treating diabetes decreased by 6.4%. Semaglutide prescriptions to treat obesity increased by 8% in that same timeframe. (Truveta, 2026)

How effective is Ozempic for Type 2 diabetes?

Ozempic helps people with Type 2 diabetes lower their hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) levels. Your HbA1C is the average level of your blood sugar over the past three months. 

  • In clinical trials, Ozempic lowered HbA1C by 1.4% and 1.6%, depending on the dose of the medication, for people with HbA1C levels between 8% and 8.9%. (Novo Nordisk, 2025)
  • Some studies suggest that HbA1C levels can be lowered even further when semaglutide is combined with other medications for diabetes, like metformin. (American Journal of Translational Research, 2024)

“Because Ozempic aids in weight loss, it can improve diabetes management on that front as well,” Dr. Mittal says.

How much weight do people lose on Ozempic?

“Ozempic typically results in a 6%–10% loss of your total body weight,” says Supriya Rao, MD, director of Medical Weight Loss at Lowell General Hospital in Massachusetts. However, Ozempic weight loss rates are lower than some other GLP-1 drugs, according to Dr. Rao. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) averages around 12%–17% body weight loss, and Zepbound (another formulation of tirzepatide) can result in as much as 21% body weight loss in some people.  

How many people use compounded semaglutide?

The number of people taking compounded semaglutide is difficult to accurately report because compounding pharmacies and facilities that make it aren’t required to report their sales. According to a complaint by the Outsourcing Facilities Association (OFA) against the FDA in February 2025, an estimated 2 million patients in the United States were given compounded versions of semaglutide from November 2023 to November 2024. 

However, the number of people receiving compounded semaglutide likely decreased in early 2025, when the FDA announced that the national shortage of the drug had ended. This means compounding pharmacies and facilities no longer have the legal right to make alternative forms of semaglutide.

How much do Americans spend on Ozempic?

  • One report found that more money was spent on semaglutide in 2023 than on any other drug. Out of more than $722 billion spent on all pharmaceuticals, nearly $39 billion was on semaglutide. (American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 2024)
  • Semaglutide accounted for about 37% of all costs associated with GLP-1 drugs in 2023. (JAMA Network Open, 2025)
  • Ozempic is also a top seller in Medicare Part D plans, which typically cover the drug when it’s prescribed for Type 2 diabetes. In 2022, Medicare spent $4.6 million on Ozempic. (KFF, 2024)

How many Americans use insurance for Ozempic?

  • In 2023, almost 1.7 million Ozempic prescriptions were filled. Commercial insurance paid for 61.4% of them. Medicare and Medicare Part D covered a combined 38.2%. (JAMA Health Forum, 2024) 
  • People with health insurance are three times more likely to use a GLP-1 drug like Ozempic compared to people with no insurance. (KFF, 2025)

How many Americans pay for Ozempic out of pocket?

Reports on out-of-pocket spending for Ozempic and other GLP-1 medications vary.

  • A 2024 study found that less than 1% of Americans pay out of pocket for Ozempic. Out of the total number of Ozempic prescriptions filled, this amounts to about 6,732. (JAMA Health Forum, 2024)
  • A recent survey found that 27% of people with health insurance taking a GLP-1 drug like Ozempic pay the full amount out of pocket. (KFF, 2025) 

Ozempic side effect statistics

  • According to clinical trials, more than 48% of people taking Ozempic experience at least one side effect. The most common one is nausea, which affects almost 37% of users.
  • About 9% of Ozempic users experience diarrhea (which can be alarming and unexpected), while 6% experience fatigue and 5% experience constipation and abdominal pain. (JAMA Network Open, 2022)

If you’re considering taking Ozempic or semaglutide, be sure to contact your healthcare provider, who can determine whether the drug is right for you. 

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