GLP-1s, or glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist drugs, are seemingly everywhere. In recent years, this class of weight-loss and Type 2 diabetes medication has become not only a household name but inescapable. Shortages have dominated news headlines, and singsong commercials have taken over airwaves. GLP-1s have gone so far as to disrupt the food, clothing, and, of course, weight-loss industries.
Yet despite the ubiquitousness of injectable drugs indicated for people with obesity—such as Wegovy (semaglutide), Zepbound (tirzepatide), and Saxenda (liraglutide)—most Americans wouldn’t take them, according to a new survey.
The nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine teamed up with business intelligence firm Morning Consult to survey more than 2,200 U.S. adults about weight-loss methods. Results of the poll, conducted in September, were released Oct. 8.
People were asked to rate their level of agreement with this statement: “If I wanted to lose weight, I would rather take an injectable weight-loss drug, rather than make a diet change.” More than half (62%) disagreed, with 14% reporting the statement didn’t apply to them because they don’t need to lose weight. Nearly three-fourths (73%) of applicable respondents disagreed.
Among people who were interested in weight loss, these groups most strongly disagreed:
- Men: 75%
- Baby boomers: 78%
- Asian or “other”: 77%
- Postgraduate-degree holders: 79%
- Household income exceeds $100K: 78%
- Urban dwellers: 75%
- Northeasterners: 77%
- Registered voters: 73%
- Independent voters: 74%
“The new findings do not mean that Americans do not want to lose weight,” PCRM president Dr. Neal Barnard said in a news release about the survey. “Rather, most would prefer to change their eating habits than inject a medication.”
View this interactive chart on Fortune.com
For more on weight management:
- The 5 biggest weight loss myths that ‘need to die,’ according to an obesity doctor
- GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy are all the rage—but people are quitting them too fast to achieve meaningful weight loss, finds 170,000-patient study
- Exclusive: The COO of Hims & Hers was the third person to try their new weight loss drugs—and she’s ready to share her story
- This is the best time of day to exercise for people living with obesity, new study shows
- Many women struggle to lose belly fat in middle age. Here’s some expert help
