WHO Sounds Alert Over Acute Lack of Weight-Loss Medications

Fewer than a tenth of people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs including Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it publishes its first recommendations on the therapies.

With in excess of 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide currently obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to this class of drugs.

Based on forecasts, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 unless action is taken.

"The latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be treated with thorough and lifelong treatment," said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

High costs, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are significant hurdles to broad availability to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing substantial body mass, says the agency.

Skinny Jab Shortage

Despite the present most favorable case, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.

The advice calls on countries and companies to expand access, via approaches including patent sharing.

A patent on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of countries in 2026.

The Way Weight-Loss Injections Operate

The injections mimick a natural hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and enhance satiety so individuals consume fewer calories.

Patients typically start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.

Evidence suggests people may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the drug, as their typical food cravings come back.

To be overweight or obese elevates your risk for experiencing diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some cancers.

Excess weight concerns individuals in all nations and was responsible for over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.