---
description: OTC CGMs from Dexcom Stelo and Abbott Lingo launched in 2024-2025 but no large RCT supports CGM benefit for non-diabetics -- the value proposition is behavioral not medical making this a consumer wellness play growing at 8 percent CAGR to 93M by 2033
type: claim
domain: health
created: 2026-02-17
source: "FDA OTC CGM clearances (Dexcom Stelo March 2024, Abbott Lingo June 2024); Washington state HTA 2025; Grand View Research market projections"
confidence: likely
---

# consumer CGMs are going mainstream as behavioral change tools not clinical diagnostics because real-time glucose visibility changes food choices even without randomized trial evidence

The OTC CGM transition arrived in 2024-2025. Dexcom Stelo became the first OTC CGM (FDA-cleared March 2024), available on Amazon since May 2025 with 400,000+ app downloads. Abbott Lingo followed in June 2024, specifically targeting non-diabetics. Levels Health pairs prescription CGMs with coaching software for metabolic optimization, backed by a16z.

The evidence gap is real: a 2025 Washington state health technology assessment found no large RCT evidence that CGMs help modify diet and exercise in adults without diabetes. Long-term studies showing decreased diabetes incidence in healthy CGM users do not exist. But this may not matter commercially. The compelling use case is not detecting prediabetes (a blood test does that) but making glucose response to food visible in real time, which changes food choices. This is a behavioral intervention, not a medical one.

The US OTC CGM market was $48.6M in 2024, projected to $93.5M by 2033 (8% CAGR). The overall CGM market including prescription is $15.3B in 2026, projected to $31.4B by 2031 (15.4% CAGR). Abbott (56.3%) and Dexcom (35.1%) control 91.4% of CGM shipments, meaning the consumer market trajectory is largely determined by these two companies' strategic decisions.

The Eversense 365 (FDA-cleared September 2024) represents the other end: a 1-year implantable CGM requiring only one calibration, validated across 5,417 sensors. This points toward the long-term attractor of invisible, always-on metabolic monitoring.

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Relevant Notes:
- [[continuous health monitoring is converging on a multi-layer sensor stack of ambient wearables periodic patches and environmental sensors processed through AI middleware]] -- CGMs are the Layer 2 (periodic patch) component of the monitoring stack
- [[Oura controls 80 percent of the smart ring market with patent-defended form factor while a demographic pivot from fitness enthusiasts to wellness-focused women drives 250 percent sales growth]] -- Oura's Veri acquisition positions it to integrate CGM data into its ring platform, bridging Layer 1 and Layer 2

Topics:
- livingip overview
- health and wellness
