Under one in 10 people eligible to benefit from obesity jabs like Wegovy are able to get them, warns the World Health Organization as it releases its inaugural advice on the drugs.
Considering more than one billion people worldwide now living with obesity, it is calling for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on forecasts, more than two billion could be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"Our new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be managed with comprehensive and lifelong treatment," remarked the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Significant expense, limited production capacity, and distribution challenges are major hurdles to widespread access to the treatments that can help people shift substantial body mass, notes the organization.
GLP-1 Therapy Supply Crisis
Even under the current most optimistic outlook, the production of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of those who need them, according to the WHO.
The recommendation urges nations and manufacturers to widen availability, through measures like voluntary licensing.
A patent on the active ingredient – the primary ingredient of a leading brand – is due to expire in several countries in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Operate
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to reduce digestion speed, reduce hunger and enhance the sense of being full so people consume fewer calories.
People typically begin shedding pounds after several weeks of commencing the weekly injections.
Research points to people may put most of the weight back on after a year of stopping the drug, because their normal appetite come back.
Being carrying excess weight increases your chance for experiencing medical conditions, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular issues, brain attack, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in all nations and was linked to over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, as per the WHO.
