Under one in 10 individuals eligible to benefit from weight-loss injections such as Wegovy are able to get them, caution the global health agency as it issues its inaugural recommendations on the drugs.
Given over a billion individuals worldwide now classified as obese, it is calling for broader and more equitable availability to GLP-1 medication.
Per estimates, over two billion will be obese by 2030 without intervention.
"The new guidelines affirms that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be treated with comprehensive and ongoing treatment," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, limited production capacity, and logistical bottlenecks are major barriers to widespread availability to the injections that can aid individuals in losing significant weight, explains the body.
Weight-Loss Drug Shortage
Despite the present most favorable scenario, the supply of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – under 10% of eligible patients, per the health organization.
The advice encourages nations and manufacturers to widen availability, through strategies like licensing agreements.
The intellectual property rights on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is due to expire in several nations in 2026.
How Obesity Jabs Function
GLP-1 drugs replicate a natural hormone to reduce digestion speed, curb appetite and enhance satiety so users reduce food intake.
Individuals commonly start to lose weight within a few weeks of starting on the once-weekly jabs.
Research points to users may put most of the weight back on after a year of discontinuing the medication, as their normal hunger return.
To be carrying excess weight increases your risk for experiencing medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and specific malignancies.
Obesity concerns individuals in countries worldwide and was associated with over three and a half million fatalities worldwide in 2024, per the health agency.
