Utah's embrace of weight loss drugs: slow but steady
The intrigue: After a flush of celebrity endorsements early on, the drugs were popularly seen as a luxury cosmetic intervention — along the same line as plastic surgery, which is famously commonplace in Utah.
Yes, but: With expanding insurance coverage, the drugs are becoming more accessible and more widely viewed as a medical treatment for obesity..
Zoom out: The states with the highest rates of GLP-1 prescriptions are also the states with the highest obesity rates, with West Virginia at the top of both lists.
That's according to insurance claims data provided to Axios by the health analytics company PurpleLab.
The states with the lowest rates of use generally have some of the nation's lowest rates of obesity: Hawaii, D.C. and Rhode Island.
Zoom in: About 2.3% of Utah adults obtained at least one GLP-1 prescription last year — a lower share than all but eight other states.
More than 299,000 doses were dispensed here — a 6.1% increase from 2023.
The big picture: PurpleLab's data offers a snapshot of the sustained increase in demand across the U.S. for the drugs hailed as game-changers in the fight against obesity, Axios' Tina Reed reports.
More than 20 states saw double-digit growth in prescriptions.
Between the lines: The most prescriptions went to adults ages 55 to 65 (29%), followed by seniors 65 and older (26%).
That likely contributes to the low rate of use in Utah, the youngest state.
Follow the money: The vast majority of prescriptions went to commercially insured patients while only 9% were written for Medicaid patients.
17% went to patients on Medicare.
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'This campaign is about visibility, yes—but also survival,' she says. 'Health equity means nothing if people can't access the medication their doctors prescribe. What does this say about how we treat our elders—especially in Black communities, where the combination of stroke and cancer is already too common?' Charles Neblett, Ph.D. was honored with the Pioneer of Justice Award by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (#NEJAD2025), commemorating the 60th anniversary of Selma. The legacy of Dr. Charles D. Neblett inspired the Black Prostate Check Challenge™, a national campaign launched by NíCole Gipson of NGPR Strategic Communications exactly one year ago after Neblett announced his metastatic stage 4 cancer diagnosis. The campaign has now reached over 67 million people, sparking vital conversations across barbershops, newsrooms, and churches—helping shift public awareness and improve shared decision-making in Black men's healthcare. 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Doug Davis of Black Information Network co-created the campaign name and is shaping the next phase of multimedia expansion. 'This challenge is about real voices,' Davis says. 'We need media that shows what Black families go through while it's still happening—not after the fact.' This next phase of the campaign will also honor Charles Neblett's full legacy—from his earliest days marching with John Lewis and being jailed for nonviolent protest, to his current fight navigating the healthcare system as an elder, advocate, and grandfather. 'One wrong step, one untreated bleed, and it can be fatal,' Neblett says. 'That kind of fragility is hard to speak out loud—I've marched through tear gas and buried friends with stronger bodies than mine right now. But my faith and this campaign keep me going.' The urgency remains. A national fundraiser is now live to help Neblett access emergency Promacta™ doses and support BPCC 2.0. Every delay increases the risk. Every voice helps restore strength. HOW TO HELP: 🔗 📫 Checks payable to: Community Projects, Inc. (501c3) 571 E 7th Street Russellville, KY 42276 📞 Contact: Marvinia Benton Neblett – (270) 957-2836 Note to Editors: This release may be excerpted or reprinted with credit to NGPR Strategic Communications and the Black Prostate Check Challenge™. Media Relations Team NGPR Strategic Communications +1 314-824-8311 [email protected] Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Instagram Facebook YouTube TikTok X Other Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
