Are Black and Latina women at higher risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes?

Dr. Linda's take

If you are a Black or Latina woman, you have probably seen the headlines that obesity and type 2 diabetes hit some communities harder than others, and wondered whether that includes you. The honest answer from national survey data is that, on average, Black and Hispanic women in the United States carry a higher burden of both conditions than white women do. I want to be clear about what that means and what it does not. It is a statement about populations, not a prediction about any one person, and it is not a verdict about anyone's habits or worth. These are also two of the exact conditions that this class of medication is studied and approved to help manage, which is why understanding the pattern matters when you sit down with a clinician. My goal here is education about risk and who these conditions affect, not advice about what you personally should take.

Do Black and Latina women have higher rates of obesity?

On average, yes. In a national analysis of NHANES survey data, the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity among women in 2013 to 2014 was 57.2% among non-Hispanic Black women and 46.9% among Hispanic women, compared with 38.2% among non-Hispanic white women and 12.4% among non-Hispanic Asian women. Those figures describe a specific survey period rather than this month, and more recent surveys show a similar ranking. Obesity is not a character trait or a simple matter of willpower; it is a common medical condition shaped by genetics, environment, food access, stress, and many other factors that sit largely outside any individual's control.

What about type 2 diabetes?

The pattern holds for diabetes as well. In a national analysis of NHANES data from 2011 to 2016, the age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of total diabetes among US adults was 20.4% among non-Hispanic Black adults and 22.1% among Hispanic adults, compared with 12.1% among non-Hispanic white adults. Being overweight or having obesity raises the risk of type 2 diabetes, which is part of why the two disparities tend to travel together.

Why does this matter for GLP-1 medications?

Because obesity and type 2 diabetes are precisely the conditions this class of medicine was built to address. Semaglutide 2.4 mg was approved by the FDA in 2021 for chronic weight management in adults with obesity, defined as an initial BMI of 30 or greater, or overweight, defined as a BMI of 27 or greater with at least one weight-related comorbidity such as high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, or type 2 diabetes. In plain terms, the conditions that are more common among Black and Latina women are among the same ones these medications are indicated to help manage. That does not mean any particular person should or should not use one, because eligibility is a clinical decision made with a licensed clinician. If you are wondering whether the medications themselves perform differently across groups, that is a separate question we cover in do these medications work as well for Black and Latina women.

What structural factors shape who gets treated?

Higher risk in a population does not automatically translate into more treatment, and in practice it has often been the reverse. In a retrospective cohort study of more than one million commercially insured US adults with type 2 diabetes, Black, Asian, Hispanic, and lower-income patients were less likely to receive a GLP-1 receptor agonist than white and higher-income patients, even after accounting for other factors. That is a statement about the system, not about any patient's choices, and it is why access is worth naming alongside risk. We go deeper on this in obesity, women of color, and access to these medications.

What should you ask your clinician?

If you want a structured way to start that conversation, Body Good Studio's quiz maps your history and symptoms to a starting point before you talk with a clinician.

Frequently asked questions

Are Black and Latina women really at higher risk for obesity?

On average, yes. National survey data put the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity among non-Hispanic Black women at 57.2% and among Hispanic women at 46.9% in 2013 to 2014, compared with 38.2% among non-Hispanic white women. These are population averages and do not describe any single person.

Is type 2 diabetes more common among Black and Hispanic adults?

National data from 2011 to 2016 showed that the age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of total diabetes was 20.4% among non-Hispanic Black adults and 22.1% among Hispanic adults, compared with 12.1% among non-Hispanic white adults. Being overweight or having obesity raises the risk of type 2 diabetes.

What are the FDA criteria for GLP-1 weight-management medications?

Semaglutide 2.4 mg was approved for chronic weight management in adults with an initial BMI of 30 or greater, or a BMI of 27 or greater with at least one weight-related comorbidity such as high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, or type 2 diabetes. Whether any individual meets these criteria is a decision for a licensed clinician.

Do these disparities mean GLP-1 medications work differently by race?

Not necessarily, and that is a separate question from who is at risk. This article is about the prevalence of the conditions, not about how the medications perform across groups, which we cover separately in do these medications work as well for Black and Latina women.

Why do these differences in risk exist?

Obesity and type 2 diabetes are shaped by genetics, environment, food and healthcare access, chronic stress, and other social and structural factors, not by individual willpower. Research also shows that patients from several racial and ethnic groups have historically been less likely to receive newer treatments, so access is part of the picture too.

References

1. Flegal KM, Kruszon-Moran D, Carroll MD, Fryar CD, Ogden CL (2016). Trends in Obesity Among Adults in the United States, 2005 to 2014. JAMA, via PMC (National Library of Medicine). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11197437/ (Accessed 2026-07-15).
2. Cheng YJ, Kanaya AM, Araneta MRG, et al. (2019). Prevalence of Diabetes by Race and Ethnicity in the United States, 2011-2016. JAMA, via PubMed (National Library of Medicine). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31860047/ (Accessed 2026-07-15).
3. Chao AM, Tronieri JS, Amaro A, Wadden TA (2021). Semaglutide for the Treatment of Obesity. Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, via PMC (National Library of Medicine). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9209591/ (Accessed 2026-07-15).
4. Eberly LA, Yang L, Essien UR, et al. (2021). Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Inequities in Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist Use Among Patients With Diabetes in the US. JAMA Health Forum, via PMC (National Library of Medicine). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/mid/NIHMS1805081/ (Accessed 2026-07-15).
5. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) (2021). Overweight & Obesity Statistics. National Institutes of Health. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity (Accessed 2026-07-15).