For type 2 diabetes management information, more than 80 percent of Gen Xers and baby boomers trusted their endocrinologist or primary care physician, versus 73 percent of millennials and 52 percent of Gen Z participants.
Gen Z and millennial respondents were significantly more likely than older generations to trust digital and social channels, including major healthcare websites, social media, AI platforms, pharmaceutical websites, and online patient communities.
In the survey, millennials reported the highest knowledge of GLP-1s. But Gen Z and millennial respondents experienced more disruptions in taking the medications, including delaying filling prescriptions, skipping doses, taking lower doses than what was prescribed, stopping the medication, and switching medications.
Reid hasn’t seen this trend among her patients, but disruption is often related to insurance coverage changes. Younger generations’ exposure to social media content promoting GLP-1 microdosing or intermittent or sporadic use of the medications may influence these behaviors, too, Albaugh adds.
Younger generations are likely more “bombarded with information about GLP-1s” online, Reid says, but that doesn’t necessarily “translate to having a better understanding of the medication.”
Taking GLP-1s as prescribed and working with a doctor is crucial, Albaugh says. “Medical supervision is about much more than prescribing an injection. It is about monitoring the whole patient, identifying side effects or nutritional problems early, and helping ensure that the weight loss is as safe and healthy as possible.”
Sources: Everyday Health Type 2 Diabetes/GLP-1 Patient Survey, N= 501, Aug. 5-13, 2026.
