WHO Sounds Warning Over Acute Scarcity of Obesity Jabs

Less than one in 10 people who could benefit from GLP-1 drugs such as Wegovy have access to them, caution the World Health Organization as it releases its initial advice on the drugs.

Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is advocating for broader and more equitable availability to these injectable treatments.

Per projections, in excess of 2,000,000,000 could be obese by 2030 unless action is taken.

"The latest guidance recognises that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with thorough and ongoing care," remarked WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Significant expense, insufficient output, and distribution challenges are key hurdles to broad access to the jabs that can aid individuals in losing substantial weight, explains the agency.

Skinny Jab Scarcity

Despite the current most favorable scenario, the supply of such drugs would only suffice for approximately 100 million people – less than 10% of those who need them, according to the health organization.

The advice encourages countries and companies to increase access, via measures like patent sharing.

A patent on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple nations in 2026.

How Weight-Loss Drugs Operate

GLP-1 drugs mimick a body's own hormone to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and boost feelings of fullness so individuals consume fewer calories.

Patients typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.

Evidence points to patients may put most of the weight back on a year later of discontinuing the drug, when their usual appetite come back.

Being above a healthy weight elevates your likelihood for developing health problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain malignancies.

Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, per the WHO.