The Global Health Body Issues Alert Over Acute Lack of Obesity Medications

Less than 10% of individuals that would benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy have access to them, warns the global health agency as it releases its first guidance on the therapies.

With more than one billion people worldwide currently living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.

According to estimates, more than two billion will be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.

"Our new guidance affirms that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed with thorough and continuous treatment," stated the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Significant expense, constrained manufacturing, and supply-chain constraints are significant barriers to universal access to the jabs that can help people shift considerable weight, explains the organization.

Skinny Jab Supply Crisis

Despite the present most favorable case, the manufacturing of these medications could only cover approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of eligible patients, per the WHO.

The guideline urges countries and companies to widen access, via strategies such as patent sharing.

The intellectual property rights on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.

How Obesity Drugs Work

The injections mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and increase feelings of fullness so people eat less.

Individuals typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.

Evidence indicates people may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the medication, when their normal food cravings resume.

Being above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for developing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific cancers.

Excess weight concerns individuals in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.