WHO says weight loss drugs are new chapter' in fight against obesity

"Their proven effectiveness in helping people lose weight means the medications represent a new chapter in how health services can treat obesity and the killer diseases it causes, the WHO added. Its statement urged countries to do what they could to ensure that people who would benefit from glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies could access them. But while eligible adults generally should get them, pregnant women should not use them, the WHO stated."

"It also warned that pharmaceutical companies would have to lower the prices they charge for Mounjaro, Ozempic and similar drugs and hugely expand production of them to avoid people in the world's poorer countries being denied them. While medication alone won't solve this global health crisis, GLP-1 therapies can help millions overcome obesity and reduce its associated harms, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO's director general."

"GLP-1 therapies mark more than a scientific breakthrough. They represent a new chapter in the gradual conceptual shift in how society approaches obesity from a lifestyle condition' to a complex, preventable and treatable chronic disease, its statement in the Journal of the American Medical Association said. GLP-1 therapies have emerged as an important innovation in addressing the global obesity challenge. The advent of these medications represents a tipping point in the treatment of obesity, its complications and related co-morbidities."

GLP-1 therapies such as Mounjaro and Ozempic produce proven weight loss and can reduce obesity-related harms and comorbidities. The WHO urges countries to ensure eligible adults can access these medications while advising that pregnant women should not use them. Pharmaceutical companies must lower prices and vastly expand production to prevent exclusion of people in poorer countries. Current production limits mean at most about 100 million people could receive the drugs, roughly 10% of those who could benefit. GLP-1 therapies contribute to reframing obesity as a complex, preventable and treatable chronic disease rather than solely a lifestyle condition.

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