WHO Raises Warning Over Acute Lack of Weight-Loss Medications

Fewer than one in 10 people that would benefit from weight-loss injections like Wegovy have access to them, caution the WHO as it issues its first advice on the drugs.

Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide now living with obesity, it is advocating for more widespread and fairer access to these injectable treatments.

Per estimates, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.

"The new guidance acknowledges that obesity is a long-term condition that can be addressed with holistic and lifelong treatment," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Significant expense, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are significant barriers to universal availability to the treatments that can aid individuals in losing considerable body mass, notes the organization.

Skinny Jab Shortage

Even in the present most favorable scenario, the production of GLP-1 therapies could only cover approximately 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.

The advice urges nations and manufacturers to widen availability, via strategies like voluntary licensing.

A patent on semaglutide – the core ingredient of a leading brand – is set to lapse in multiple nations in 2026.

How Obesity Drugs Operate

The injections replicate a natural hormone to slow digestion, reduce hunger and enhance satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.

People typically begin shedding pounds after several weeks of starting on the regular doses.

Research suggests patients may see weight return within a year of discontinuing the medication, because their typical appetite resume.

To be overweight or obese elevates your chance for developing medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and specific cancers.

Obesity impacts individuals in countries worldwide and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the health agency.