WHO says weight loss drugs are ‘new chapter’ in fight against obesity | Obesity

Weight-loss drugs such as Mounjaro offer huge potential to combat the global surge in obesity that will affect 2 billion people worldwide by 2030, the World Health Organization has said.

Their proven effectiveness in helping people lose weight means the drugs represent “a new chapter” in how health services can treat obesity and the deadly diseases it causes, the WHO added.

His statement urges countries to do what they can to ensure that people who would benefit from glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies can access them. But while eligible adults should generally get them, pregnant women should not use them, WHO said.

He also warned that pharmaceutical companies should lower the prices they charge for Mounjaro, Ozempic and similar drugs and significantly increase production to avoid people in the world’s poorest countries being denied these drugs.

“While medicines alone will not solve this global health crisis, GLP-1 therapies can help millions of people overcome obesity and reduce the harms associated with it,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

The WHO outlined its thinking on these drugs for the first time in a “special communication” aimed at health professionals.

“GLP-1 therapies mark more than a scientific breakthrough. They represent a new chapter in the progressive conceptual shift in how society approaches obesity – from a ‘lifestyle condition’ to a complex, preventable and treatable chronic disease,” said the statement published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“GLP-1 therapies… have emerged as an important innovation to address the global obesity challenge. The advent of these drugs represents a turning point in the treatment of obesity, its complications and associated comorbidities.”

However, limitations in global production capacity mean that at present only around 100 million people could receive these drugs – just 10% of the billion who could benefit – he adds. The number of people considered obese – based on a body mass index of 30 or more – is expected to double from 1 billion to 2 billion by 2030, and global costs are expected to reach $3 trillion by the same date, the report warns.

Pharmaceutical companies should consider “tiered pricing” – charging poorer countries less – to achieve the dramatic expansion of access that the deepening global crisis demands, the WHO said.

The WHO statement was written by three prominent doctors: Francesca Celletti, Luz De Regil and Jeremy Farrar, its deputy director for health promotion and disease prevention and control, who was previously its chief scientist and also director of the Wellcome scientific institute in London.

He stressed that drugs alone were not enough to reverse obesity and that people using them should also eat healthier, exercise more and receive lifestyle advice.

WHO recognizes growing evidence that GLP-1 may help reduce the risk of a range of serious and life-threatening events and conditions, including heart attacks and strokes, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, bad cholesterol, sleep apnea, and kidney and arterial diseases.

Three “major obstacles” must be overcome to ensure that everyone in the world whose health would benefit from GLP-1 can benefit from it: lack of production capacity, availability and affordability; the preparation of health systems to provide them; and universal access to health care.

“Weight-loss drugs have an important role to play, but they are not a silver bullet,” said Katherine Jenner, executive director of the Obesity Health Alliance, a coalition of more than 50 health, medical and children’s organizations in the UK.

“In the UK at present, access is still limited, supply is fragile and NHS use is narrowly targeted. These powerful medicines can help people with chronic obesity, but they are not suitable for everyone and need to be accompanied by comprehensive support to be used safely and effectively.

“Evidence shows that most people regain weight once they stop taking these medications, and we cannot treat two-thirds of the population forever,” Jenner added.