May 28, 2026
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A study of nearly 12 million insurance claims found that the use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs far outpaced bariatric surgeries for people with obesity between 2022 and 2024.
The use of GLP-1 weight-loss medications is far outpacing bariatric surgery for obesity patients, new research shows.
Researches found the use of GLP-1 drugs increased by more than 140% between 2022 and 2024. Bariatric surgeries declined by more than 34% during the same stretch. The study was based on insurance claim data from 11.7 million adults diagnosed as obese or overweight, or as having diabetes.
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GLP-1 medications, including semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, and tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound, may be easier for patients than bariatric surgery. But patients who have bariatric surgery tend to lose more weight than people who use GLP-1s, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
The new study, published May 13 in the journal JAMA Surgery, confirms earlier research showing that more people are choosing GLP-1 medications, such as semaglutide, but those studies came out before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved tirzepatide for weight loss in 2023.
The study found that more than 1 million patients filled prescriptions for GLP-1s between 2022 and 2024, compared to approximately 44,000 people filing claims for bariatric surgery. But more than 90% of the people whose claims were considered in the study were not getting either treatment – despite the fact that 1 in 5 people in the United States have obesity.
A large-scale study published in January projected that nearly half of all adults in the United States will have obesity by 2035. People with obesity are at higher risk for chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Bariatric surgery has long been a treatment for people who have been unsuccessful losing weight through other methods. It was introduced in the 1950s, and there are several kinds of bariatric surgeries, many of them laparoscopic. The two main procedures remove or bypass part of the stomach. A laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy removes about 80% of the stomach, constricting the amount it can hold, and reduces levels of a hormone involved in appetite stimulation. Another alternative, gastric bypass surgery, creates an smaller new stomach pouch attached to part of the small intestine.
Surgeries are generally options for people with body mass indexes of 40 or higher, which is termed extremely obese. People with BMIs of 35-39 also may be candidates for bariatric surgery if they have co-existing conditions, such as diabetes or sleep apnea, the Mayo Clinic says.
People who have bariatric surgery can lose up to half of their presurgery weight, but to keep it off long-term they need to follow specific post-surgery guidelines and make significant lifestyle changes. The surgeries pose short- and long-term health risks, including infection, blood clots and bowel obstruction.
GLP-1 weight-loss medications may lead to a loss of 20% of total body weight, but they are more effective for some people than others – for reasons that are still not fully understood. Most of the medications come in the form of once-a-month injections, though some GLP-1 pills are now on the market.
Potential side effects of GLP-1s are fatigue, nausea, constipation and dizziness. About 40% of people taking these medications experience some or all of the side effects longterm, Johns Hopkins Medicine says.
Sometimes GLP-1 medications are used to help people lose enough weight to prepare for bariatric surgery.
