State-Level Adult Obesity by Race and Ethnicity—Reply

This text is a reply to a letter from Drs Rader and Brownstein concerning a recent publication on estimates of adult obesity prevalence in the US. The original publication addressed state-level obesity prevalence, broken down by racial and ethnic groups, with forecasts extending to 2035. The authors of the letter correctly pointed out that these forecasts were based on past trends. They also raised concern that the results did not account for the potential effect of recent changes in prescribing patterns of weight-management medications. Specifically, drugs like GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) were mentioned. These medications could influence future obesity prevalence, which the original study did not consider. The authors of the reply thank them for their thoughtful letter and acknowledge the validity of their point.