'GLP-1s Potentially ‘Transformative’ but Could Lead to ‘Distorted’ Obesity Care: WHO'

 

According to the World Health Organization, GLP-1 receptor agonists are currently being used in a highly medicalized manner. Healthcare systems need to enact more holistic solutions, focusing on health promotion, disease prevention and policy interventions.

Officials at the World Health Organization argue that the meteoric rise of GLP-1 therapies for obesity gives the industry and healthcare systems a potent weapon to fight the obesity pandemic, but that the way they are currently being deployed risks falling short of this goal.

These remarks were made Wednesday in an opinion piece for JAMA, penned by WHO officials Jeremy Farrar, Francesco Branca and Francesca Celletti.

In the article, the experts called obesity a public health problem of “pandemic proportions,” affecting more than 1 billion worldwide, with cases climbing in almost every country. In 2019, obesity-related non-communicable diseases claimed five million lives. Global costs associated with obesity are likely to hit $3 trillion by 2030.

With this as the backdrop, the rise and growing popularity of GLP-1 receptor agonists could prove to be “transformative” for obesity care, the authors wrote, giving health systems in various countries effective pharmacologic options for the condition.

“However, medication in isolation will not be enough to address the obesity crisis,” the WHO officials wrote, adding that it is “imperative” for healthcare systems to employ a holistic response “that ensures universally available services to prevent, treat, and manage the disease in a way that is accessible, affordable, and sustainable.”

The current orientation of obesity care—where interventions are provided only for people who are already severely obese or who are suffering from related comorbidities—is inadequate. Similarly, the highly “medicalized” way in which the industry and health systems tackle obesity, an approach “dominated by GLP-1RAs,” will lead to a “distorted response” to the obesity crisis, according to the WHO experts.

Instead, the WHO recommends “a whole of society approach,” one that puts a premium on preventing obesity, alongside its management. Such a strategy could involve broad health promotion and disease prevention initiatives, supplemented by effective food and urban environment policies.

The WHO is also currently working on guidelines regarding the use of GLP-1 therapies in adults with obesity, seeking to establish standards for the drugs’ indications, application and other similar considerations. The global health authority expects to publish these guidelines in July 2025.

In recent years, GLP-1 therapies have seen explosive popularity, particularly for their use in obesity. Several analyst firms have projected the obesity space to reach anywhere from $100 billion to $160 billion in the next decade. The market is currently dominated by two players: Novo Nordisk, which owns the semaglutide brands Ozempic and Wegovy, and Eli Lilly, which markets tirzepatide as Mounjaro and Zepbound. Several other companies—both big and small biopharma players—are aggressively investing in this space, seeking to cash in on the lucrative weight-loss craze.

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