The surge in interest in GLP-1 drugs this year has firmly established them as a dominant force in the space of weight loss, eclipsing traditional methods in Google searches.
The GLP-1 hormone, crucial for regulating hunger and satiation, achieves this by stimulating insulin release, inhibiting glucagon release, slowing stomach emptying, and dampening the brain’s stress and reward mechanisms.
Novo Nordisk markets Semaglutide under Ozempic and Wegovy, while Eli Lilly and Company offers Tirzepatide through Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Structure Therapeutics has also gained attention for its promising orally administered GLP-1 drug cocktail.
According to GarageGymReviews, Google searches for GLP-1 weight loss drugs like Ozempic have surged dramatically, outpacing traditional weight loss methods by 13.7 times since Q1 2022.
Conversely, interest in conventional methods involving diet, nutrition, and exercise has declined by 26 percent from previous levels.
There is speculation that GLP-1 drugs may soon be integrated into fitness programs at gyms to enhance their efficacy, though opinions within the fitness industry are divided on this approach, with concerns over it being seen as a simplistic solution to complex obesity issues.
Morgan Stanley reports that approximately 11 percent of US households, equating to about 5 percent of the population, currently include someone on a weekly regimen of GLP-1 drugs, with another 17 percent open to adopting this treatment.
Capital Group estimates that the Total Addressable Market (TAM) for GLP-1 drugs exceeds 2 billion people, suggesting that annual sales could reach $100 billion by 2030.
This underscores the immense potential and growing popularity of these pharmaceutical interventions in combating obesity.
