Back in April we reported that medspas moved first on GLP-1 weight loss programs, ahead of dermatology and plastic surgery. With a fresh pass across our census of 48,198 verified US aesthetic practices, we can now put a full category breakdown on it.
The category breakdown
2,964 practices nationally advertise weight loss or GLP-1 programs. By category:
| Practice category | Practices advertising weight loss |
|---|---|
| Medspa | 624 |
| Full-service (multi-specialty) | 389 |
| Wellness | 280 |
| Plastic surgery | 220 |
Medspas remain the clear leader, consistent with what we reported in April: they had the cash-pay infrastructure and the patient relationship already in place, and weight loss was an extension of an existing consumer-health model rather than a new one.
Full-service practices are the mover to watch
Full-service, multi-specialty practices sit second at 389, ahead of dedicated wellness practices at 280. That is worth noting because full-service practices are, by definition, already running multiple revenue lines and multiple provider types under one roof. Adding weight loss to a practice that already juggles aesthetics, wellness, and sometimes primary care is a lower-friction decision than it is for a single-specialty plastic surgery practice, where 220 locations have made the move despite a patient base and staffing model built around surgical consults, not chronic weight management.
What has not changed
The structural story from April holds: this is not evenly distributed across practice types, and it is not slowing down. Weight loss has become a service line decision every practice type is now making, at different speeds, for different reasons.
Wellness practices are the category to watch next
Wellness practices sit third at 280, a category that overlaps heavily with the kind of longevity and preventive-health positioning that made GLP-1 programs a natural fit in the first place. Unlike plastic surgery practices, wellness operators typically do not need to build new clinical infrastructure to add a weight loss program: the patient relationship, the intake process, and often the prescribing relationship already exist in a similar form. That makes wellness a category likely to keep closing the gap with medspas over time, even if it never fully catches up.
What this means for a rep or manufacturer
A practice's weight loss status is a signal about how that practice thinks about new service lines and patient acquisition, not just a fact about their menu. The 624 medspas already running GLP-1 programs have proven they will move fast on a new category with the right economics. The 220 plastic surgery practices that have made the same move despite it being a bigger operational lift for their model are worth a closer look: they are likely the more aggressive, growth-oriented operators within their specialty, and that appetite tends to extend to device and equipment decisions too.
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