Startling Surge: Why Severe Obesity Rates Continue to Climb Despite Health Initiatives

The prevalence of overweight and severely obese individuals in the United States continues to climb, even as weight-loss drugs like Ozempic gain popularity.

According to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday, the study takes a comprehensive look at trends in adult and child obesity over the last 60 years, utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The latest findings, collected between August 2021 and August 2023, reveal that 31.7 percent of adults over 20 years old are classified as overweight. This marks an increase from 30.7 percent in the 2017-2018 survey.

Additionally, the percentage of adults considered severely obese rose from 9.2 percent to 9.7 percent. On a positive note, the proportion of obese adults declined slightly from 42 percent to 40 percent.

The CDC defines individuals with a body mass index (BMI) over 25 as overweight, while those with a BMI over 30 are categorized as obese, and a BMI above 40 is classified as severely obese.

A second report found that between 2021 and 2023, 21 percent of children and adolescents ages two through 19 were considered obese, the highest figure ever recorded in this age group.  

The unexpected findings come amid a rise in GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound. November 2025 data from Kaiser Family Foundation shows one in eight Americans has tried a GLP-1, short for glucagon-like peptide-1, drug for weight loss, diabetes or other conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). 

This has doubled from roughly six percent measured in a February 2024 Gallup poll.

Despite growing popularity of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, obesity is still on the rise among certain groups of Americans such as women (stock image) 

In Wednesday’s report, women saw the most movement, with an increase in severely obese women from 12 percent in the 2017-2018 report to 13.2 percent in this year’s. For men, the rate was virtually unchanged at 7.2 percent. 

The amount of women who were overweight also increased slightly from 26.9 percent to 27.6 percent, while the proportion of those with obesity stayed steady at 42 percent.  

Among males, there were more overweight men in 2021-2023 compared to 2017-2018, increasing from 33.7 percent to 35 percent. Obesity declined from 43 to 39 percent.

Trends were also particularly concerning in children and teens. Seven percent were severely obese, up from six percent in 2017-2018, and 15 percent were overweight, down slightly from 16 percent in 2017-2018. 

The results of the reports were unexpected as experts have noted a decline in obesity rates and linked it to the rise in GLP-1 usage. 

Dr John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, told ABC News: ‘So, we’re seeing, for the first time in decades, that there’s like a leveling off and even maybe a slight decrease and I think this is like challenging a major shift from the long-held expectation that obesity would just be climbing year after year.

‘I do think the advent of the GLP-1s are absolutely playing a role. At that point in 2023, they weren’t as widespread as they are today. So, we expect that these factors could play even more significant role in more recent times.’

The shift could also be due to more people being considered severely obese, the data suggests. Additionally, many GLP-1 users stop using the drugs and gain the weight back, so experts have warned they are not a permanent solution to America’s obesity epidemic. 

Experts have noted that GLP-1 medications could drive decreases in obesity rates as newer data is released (stock image)

Women are typically more likely than men to become overweight or obese largely due to hormonal shifts. The female sex hormone estrogen has been shown to influence fat distribution, and as estrogen dips during menopause, this process can promote abdominal weight gain. 

Some studies also suggest women are more psychologically prone to emotional eating, which can also pack on extra weight. 

Data for children and teens was broken up into age groups. For children ages two to five, obesity increased from 13.4 percent in 2017-2018 to 14.9 percent in 2021-2023. 

Kids ages six to 11 saw increases from 20.3 percent to 22.1 percent, while teens ages 12 to 19 saw a jump in obesity from 21.2 to 22.9 percent. 

Dr David Ludwig, co-director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and professor of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, told ABC News: ‘This is exceptionally concerning.’

The GLP-1 medications liraglutide and semaglutide are FDA approved for children 12 and older to manage weight, but none of these medications have been deemed safe for use in children younger than 12 by the FDA. 

In addition to diet and exercise, children can be eligible for bariatric surgery, but treatment for obesity is largely based on lifestyle shifts.