Rise in Prevalence of Obesity in Youth, Adults With T1DM Seen From 2008 to 2023

FRIDAY, April 4, 2025 (HealthDay News) — From 2008-2011 to 2020-2023, there was an increase in the prevalence of obesity among youth and adults with type 1 diabetes, and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) prescriptions also increased for this group over time, according to a study published online March 3 in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

Yunwen Xu, Ph.D., from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, and colleagues characterized trends in obesity and prescriptions for GLP-1 RAs across body mass index (BMI) categories among U.S. patients with type 1 diabetes (youth [2 to 19 years] and adults [20 years and older]).

The researchers found that from 2008-2011 to 2020-2023, the prevalence of obesity increased from 18.1 to 26.0 percent among youth with type 1 diabetes and from 30.5 to 38.1 percent for adults with type 1 diabetes. Black and Hispanic youth and adults had the highest obesity rates; over time, racial and ethnic disparities persisted. Across all BMI categories, GLP-1 RA prescriptions increased significantly during the last 15-year period in a dose-response manner among youth and adults with type 1 diabetes.

“Obesity and GLP-1 RA prescriptions across different BMI categories have surged over the last 15-year period in a large and diverse U.S. population of youth and adults with type 1 diabetes,” the authors write. “Our findings underscore the urgent need for safety and efficacy data on GLP-1 RAs and clinical guidelines for obesity management among the type 1 diabetes population.”

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