Under one in 10 individuals that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy can access them, caution the World Health Organization as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the medications.
Considering over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer availability to this class of drugs.
According to projections, more than two billion are projected to be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.
"The latest guidelines affirms that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and lifelong support," remarked its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to widespread availability to the injections that can help people shift substantial weight, notes the agency.
Weight-Loss Drug Scarcity
Despite the current most favorable scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, as stated by the health organization.
The advice urges governments and firms to widen availability, via approaches like voluntary licensing.
A patent on a key compound – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Injections Function
GLP-1 drugs mimick a biological compound to slow digestion, reduce hunger and increase the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
People commonly begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research indicates patients may put most of the weight back on within a year of stopping the medication, as their normal food cravings resume.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your chance for experiencing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Obesity affects individuals in all nations and was responsible for 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.
