Women nearing menopause drive GLP-1 boom
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Women have been prescribed GLP-1 drugs at higher rates than men since 2021, according to newly released 2024 data from FAIR Health, a nonprofit that studies healthcare costs and coverage.
Why it matters: This is another cultural moment when women, especially those approaching menopause, are paying more for their well-being.
Zoom in: Some 18.6% of women prescribed GLP-1 drugs received them for weight loss (and not diabetes) — double the rate of men, at 9.3% — according to FAIR Health.
- Women between 40 and 64 have been the top recipients of GLP-1 prescriptions since 2019. For men, the top users in most years have been seniors.
How it works: GLP-1 drugs mimic a naturally occurring hormone which helps regulate blood sugar and promote feelings of fullness, per Harvard Health Publishing.
What we're hearing: "In my experience, thus far, it's been entirely women" — many of them approaching menopause — who ask to be on GLP-1 drugs to lose weight, says family physician Beth Oller, who practices in rural Kansas.
- At a certain age, "the things you used to do for weight loss aren't cutting it anymore," says Oller, who's 45 and tells Axios she has firsthand experience with this.
- "Your body is distributing fat in a different way than before," and even hormone replacement therapy "doesn't take the rest of our tissues and our bodies back to being 20," she says. "It's rough."