Under one in 10 individuals that would benefit from obesity jabs such as Wegovy are able to get them, warns the global health agency as it publishes its first recommendations on the therapies.
Considering more than one billion individuals worldwide now obese, it is calling for increased and just access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, more than two billion could be living with obesity by 2030 without intervention.
"Our latest guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a chronic disease that can be treated with thorough and continuous care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major hurdles to broad access to the jabs that can assist patients in reducing substantial weight, explains the body.
GLP-1 Therapy Shortage
Despite the current most favorable scenario, the manufacturing of such drugs would only suffice for about 100 million people – fewer than 10% of eligible patients, according to the WHO.
The advice encourages countries and companies to widen availability, via strategies including voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the main component of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy – is scheduled to end in multiple countries in 2026.
How Weight-Loss Drugs Work
The injections replicate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, curb appetite and enhance the sense of being full so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients usually begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Evidence points to users may see weight return a year later of halting the treatment, when their typical appetite come back.
To be above a healthy weight increases your likelihood for experiencing diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in every country and was responsible for millions of deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the health agency.
