WHO Says Carpe Diem! GLP-1 Agonists Can Spark Transformation

This was a pleasant surprise. For years, the World Health Association avoided the idea that obesity is an actual chronic disease. Today we have evidence for a big shift in thinking. Three senior officials from WHO published a viewpoint in JAMA yesterday to clearly say not only that obesity is a chronic disease, but also that GLP-1 agonists for obesity open the door to transformation in global health. They did not mince words in their conclusions:

“The critical question is not whether these pharmacological interventions are welcome or unwelcome, but whether GLP-1 RAs offer an opportunity for global health systems to embrace and deliver the transformation needed to offer access to treatment of obesity as a chronic disease in a way that promotes health equity by removing barriers to care across countries and for the populations within the countries. We believe society is at a pivotal juncture and now has the tools to transform and reduce the health effects of obesity globally. We must seize the moment.”

Overcoming the Residue of Obsolete Thinking

The now obsolete way of thinking about obesity was to regard it as merely a risk factor – evidence of a poor diet. The residue of this thinking still lurks within WHO. For example, the organization’s fact sheet on non-communicable diseases still avoids naming obesity as one of them. Instead, in this framework, it is a “metabolic risk factor” arising from unhealthy diets and physical inactivity.

That residue will wash away with time. Last year, WHO launched a new framework for obesity prevention and management, which clearly defines obesity as a noncommunicable disease:

“Obesity is a complex, multifactorial chronic disease, defined by excessive adiposity that impairs health, usually due to environments that promote obesity, psychosocial factors and genetic variants.”

It has taken time and much to get to this sound framework for dealing with obesity as a complex, noncommunicable disease of global importance. We view the JAMA editorial as a coming out party for celebrating the success to date and energizing all for the work that lies ahead.

Click here for the editorial in JAMA and here for the WHO obesity prevention and management framework.

A New Day, photograph by Ted Kyle / ConscienHealth

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December 19, 2024