But the drugs alone won’t entirely solve the problem that affects 1 in 6 people worldwide, they say.
Blockbuster weight-loss drugs can help to stop and reverse the global obesity crisis, experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) have said.
But the drugs alone won’t entirely solve the problem that affects one in six people globally, they added.
Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), three experts from the WHO said the approval of drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro to treat obesity “creates potential for a transformation of the whole health system that could halt and reverse the global obesity pandemic through prevention and effective integrated management.”
Obesity has now reached “pandemic proportions,” affecting more than 1 billion people worldwide, the experts warned.
But the interest in the jabs — spurred by the popularity of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug, Ozempic, which also sheds weight from those who take it — has had a positive knock-on effect.
The availability of the drugs is “already unlocking new demand for services,” which is in turn generating new interest in obesity from clinicians, governments, policymakers, program managers and the pharmaceutical industry.
“These elements were previously lacking and hindered an effective global public health and clinical response to the obesity pandemic,” the authors wrote.
Despite the prevalence of obesity there’s a lack of knowledge about the disease and “inconsistencies” in understanding how obesity interacts with other health problems.
The authors also said that attempts to encourage healthy eating and exercise “have so far failed to treat obesity or turn the tide on the obesity pandemic.”
The paper, released Wednesday, was authored by WHO Global Health Expert Francesca Celletti, WHO Nutrition Director Francesco Branca and Jeremy Farrar, the WHO’s chief scientist.
They pointed out that clinical trials have suggested that these new types of drugs could lead to reductions in body weight of between 10 and 25 percent, compared with a dummy drug, as well as beneficial effects on a range of other conditions including cardiovascular disease, hyperglycemia and kidney dysfunction.
However, the authors said that “medication in isolation will not be enough to address the obesity crisis,” and that there needs to be “universally available services to prevent, treat, and manage the disease in a way that is accessible, affordable, and sustainable.”
The WHO is currently drawing up a guideline onthe use of this class of drug, which is expected to come out in July.
While they’ve shown to have impressive clinical results, some experts have stressed concerns about whether the right people will access the in-demand drugs, while others have warned governments not to over-rely on weight loss drugs to deal with under-pressure health systems.
