The role Ozempic plays in fighting obesity

Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound are unquestionably revolutionary. Beyond the stunning weight loss they cause, there’s growing evidence that they can affect harbingers of many other diseases. As the number on the scale goes down, often blood pressure, blood sugar and lipid levels drop, too, sometimes so much that they can taper or stop other medications. And many people see benefits that are less easily measured, but deserve to be part of the conversation.

For the first time, they are free of the “food noise”, the constant buzz of a brain convinced it is hungry. Or they’ve finally found relief from knee or joint pain; they can now get down on the floor with their kids or hike that trail that has always eluded them.

And yet, there is also so much we still need to learn about these drugs and how they will be used. The wild prognostications about how GLP-1s will affect societal health, not to mention the range of downstream consequences on things like food and beverage consumption, hinge on their long-term use.

But given their real side effects and steep cost, it’s not clear how many people will take these drugs even for a year or two, let alone for life. And we will eventually need to better define whose weight puts them at risk of disease, and who is perfectly healthy in their bigger body, and then decide whether it makes sense to pay for the drug for anyone who wants it.

We also need to talk more about what created the modern obesity problem in the first place. The US doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to investing in prevention or the social determinants of health. But we have to imagine a world where both the quick fix and the slower, structural solution can coexist.

Loading

This year, the extraordinary possibilities brought by these obesity drugs have become clear. Next year, we need a frank, nuanced conversation about how they should be equitably and responsibly used.

Bloomberg

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.