The introduction of weight-loss drugs has led to a reduction in weight-loss surgeries.
Maria Bugeja
In the United States, bariatric surgery fell by between a quarter and almost half from 2022 as GLP-1 prescriptions more than doubled. The studies show the two trends moving together, not proof that the drugs caused the whole fall, and we found no Maltese data on surgery numbers.How we reached this verdict ↓
Analysis and evaluation
Bariatric surgery has fallen sharply in the United States as weight-loss drugs took off. The drugs are a likely part of the reason, but the studies show the trends moving together rather than proving cause, and none of them cover Malta.
Surgery fell as prescriptions rose
Three US studies, using different data, find the same direction. Lin and colleagues, analysing insurance records for 17 million Americans, found GLP-1 prescriptions for obesity more than doubled between 2022 and 2023 while bariatric surgery fell 25.6%. Calzaretta and colleagues, in JAMA Surgery in May 2026, found surgery fell 34.1% between 2022 and 2024 as GLP-1 use rose 140.4%. Rohde and colleagues, also in JAMA Surgery, found a 46.4% fall among eligible patients between 2022 and 2025.
Cause is likely but not proven
Until recently, people with severe obesity had few effective options short of an operation. Semaglutide and tirzepatide now produce large weight losses without one, so it is reasonable that some patients choose them instead. But access to surgery, waiting lists, insurance rules and patient preferences also shape how many operations are done, and studies of this kind cannot separate those factors from the effect of the drugs.
Surgery has not been replaced. It remains an established treatment for severe obesity that produces large and sustained weight loss, and the choice between the two depends on the patient.
No evidence for Malta
We found no Maltese data on bariatric surgery numbers before and after these drugs became available, so the US trend cannot be presented as a documented Maltese one.
Evaluation
The trend the speaker described is real and large in the United States, and the drugs are a likely contributor. The evidence shows the two moving together rather than proving cause, and it does not extend to Malta.
Editorial note
How we assessed this claim
We looked for studies tracking bariatric surgery alongside the use of GLP-1 medicines, and checked whether they support the drugs as the cause and whether the evidence covers Malta.
The trend the speaker described is well documented, which rules out anything below True but lacks context. It stops short of True because the evidence comes from the United States and shows the trends coinciding rather than proving cause.
Limitations
- All the studies found are from the United States, where access to drugs and surgery differs from Malta's.
- Studies showing prescriptions rising while surgery falls cannot by themselves prove that one caused the other.
- We found no published data on how many bariatric operations are performed in Malta each year.
Sources
- Lin et al., study of GLP-1 prescribing and bariatric surgery among 17 million insured Americans, JAMA Network Open (2024), as reported by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Calzaretta R.J. et al., JAMA Surgery (13 May 2026), as reported by EurekAlert
- Rohde et al., JAMA Surgery (2026)
- American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders, 2022 indications for metabolic and bariatric surgery