U.S. Weight Loss Market Grows To $90 Billion, Boosted By Obesity Drugs

March, 4, 2024, Marketdata LLC, a leading market research firm tracking the weight loss market since 1989, has just released a new report: “The U.S. Weight Market: 2024 Status Report & Forecast.” This 107-page report is a comprehensive analysis of ALL 10 segments of the weight loss market and its competitors -- commercial, medical and retail programs.

The U.S. weight loss market is now undergoing an unprecedented transformation – a paradigm shift from commercial programs and diet products to a medical approach involving anti-obesity medications.

“The gut punches just keep coming for commercial weight loss companies. Not only do they have to compete with the wildly popular obesity drugs, but they also face competition from apps like Noom and even the 8,000+ medical spas (and growing) that have added weight loss and compounded obesity drugs to their services.”, according to Marketdata’s Research Director, John LaRosa

Major Findings:

* Market Value… Marketdata estimates that the total U.S. weight loss market reached new highs of $89.9 billion in 2023. The market is expected to grow another 4.3% to $93.8 billion this year.

* Obesity medications… This market for prescription weight loss drugs in the U.S. more than doubled in 2023, from $5.1 billion in 2022 to $11.9 billion, as demand continued to soar for drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Saxenda, Wegovy and Ozempic, as well as the entry of new drugs such as Mounjaro and Zepbound into the market. More are coming.

* Medical weight loss programs and services (incl. weight loss surgeries) were estimated to be worth $21 billion in 2023. This is the highest share of the market captured since 1989. Medical programs are provided by independent physicians (incl. bariatricians), clinics, hospitals, surgeons, and medical weight loss franchises.

* Commercial chains… Revenues of the major commercial weight loss firms (Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, Jenny Craig, Medifast and others) fell 25% from 2021 to 2023, to $3.35 billion. They are scrambling to add medical programs and survive. $1 billion worth of revenues was lost.

* Meal replacements (shakes, nutrition bars) and retail appetite suppressants’ combined sales were estimated at $4.86 billion in 2023 – down 14% from 2021. The 2024 forecast is for a 4.7% decline to $4.63 billion in 2024. Herbalife’s U.S. weight loss sales have fallen two years in a row.

* The bariatric surgery market was valued at $7.32 billion in 2023 (peak of 294,000 surgeries) and is forecast to reach $7.69 billion in 2024, up 5.0%.

* Health club revenues were estimated at $30.8 billion in 2023. The 2024 forecast is for 2.5% growth to $31.6 billion in 2024.

* Weight loss coaches… An estimated 26,500 of them lost their jobs since 2020, as the commercial diet companies implemented layoffs. This is affecting the quality and nature of support for many dieters.

* Advertising… Commercial diet companies and obesity drug manufacturers spent a combined $882 million on advertising in 2023.

"Retail weight loss centers (high overhead/low profit margin operations), have all but disappeared from the weight loss landscape in America. With Jenny Craig’s closure of 600 centers last year, and the scaling back of WW studios, there now just hundreds of local centers left, where there used to be thousands.”, according to Marketdata’s Research Director, John LaRosa.

About The Report
“The U.S. Weight Loss Market: 2024 Status Report & Forecast”, March 2024, is a 107-page independent analysis of all segments of the weight loss market. It contains 20 tables. Coverage: commercial chains, meal replacements and appetite suppressants, diet soft drinks, artificial sweeteners, low-calorie frozen dinner entrees, the health clubs industry, prescription obesity drugs, medical weight loss programs by hospitals, clinics and MD offices, bariatrician programs, and weight loss surgery. Extensive coverage of the effects of the obesity drugs boom and its effect on operations and revenues. 2021-2023 sales and performance of all market segments, with 2024 Forecasts. The report’s price is $895. The Table of Contents can be found at: https://www.marketdataenterprises.com/diet-market-our-specialty/, Contact: Marketdata LLC, 7210 Wareham Drive, Tampa, FL 33647, (813-971-8080). John LaRosa is available for interviews.


About Marketdata
Marketdata LLC is a 45-year old, independent market research firm with a specialty tracking the weight loss market since 1989. It publishes a wide variety of reports about service and healthcare sectors, and does consulting, custom research projects, and teleconference calls. Marketdata also operates a free website, DietBusinessWatch.com, updated daily with the latest weight loss market and competitor news, analyses and a blog by John LaRosa.

Contact Information

John S. LaRosa

Research Director, President

Marketdata LLC

(1) 8139718080

john@marketdataenterprises.com