Fewer than one in 10 individuals who could benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it publishes its initial recommendations on the medications.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide currently obese, it is calling for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, over two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidance recognises that excess weight is a lifelong illness that can be managed with holistic and continuous support," stated its chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major obstacles to universal availability to the treatments that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, says the agency.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Even in the present most favorable case, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach around 100 million people – under 10% of those who need them, as stated by the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to widen access, via measures including licensing agreements.
A patent on a key compound – the primary component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Work
GLP-1 drugs imitate a biological compound to delay gastric emptying, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
Patients commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of beginning the weekly injections.
Research suggests users may put most of the weight back on a year later of halting the drug, as their typical hunger come back.
Being carrying excess weight raises your risk for contracting medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, stroke, and certain malignancies.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was associated with millions of fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
