If you or someone you love is managing diabetes or weight, you've likely heard about GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide. A massive new look at real-world US health records shows just how much prescribing has jumped recently.
The report looked at over 2.8 million patients prescribed these medications. It found that from December 2025 to March 2026, the rate of GLP-1 prescriptions rose sharply. First-time prescriptions for any obesity medication shot up 21.7%, and first-time prescriptions for oral semaglutide increased by more than 50%.
This isn't a clinical trial testing if the drug works. It's a snapshot of real-world prescribing trends. The data comes from Truveta, which covers over 18% of daily US clinical care, but it may not represent every community. The report notes that the surge likely followed the FDA's approval of an oral semaglutide in December 2025, but it can't prove that caused the increase.
No safety problems were reported in this data, but the study didn't track side effects or how well patients did. It simply shows that prescribing of these popular medications is growing fast, especially after a new pill became available.