New drug skyrockets weight loss med users

The number of adults in Denmark redeeming at least one prescription for weight loss medication saw a significant rise, with 15,200 users in 2021 (0.3% of the population). This surged to 27,800 in 2022 and 117,500 by last year, which is 2.4% of the adult population. Despite this increase, the usage is still below the peak of 131,100 adults 25 years ago when the medication Letigen was widespread. Letigen was banned in 2002 due to reports of various side effects, after which usage dropped sharply. The following years saw a stable usage rate of 0.2% to 0.5% spread over different medications. A sharp increase from 2022 to 2023 is mainly attributed to the launch of Novo Nordisk’s drug Wegovy in Denmark in December 2022, according to the new analysis by Danmarks Statistik.