World Health Organization recommends Ozempic-style medication as long-term obesity treatments

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Ozempic-style medications have been endorsed as long-term treatments for obesity under new guidelines released by the World Health Organization. But the WHO warns that even with rapid expansion in production, the weight loss medications are projected to reach fewer than one in ten people who could benefit by the end of the decade.

Transcript

00:00So in response to what it describes as an increasing public health challenge, the World

00:07Health Organization has issued guidelines for the use of these GLP-1 based drugs like

00:12Azempic for people with obesity. GLP-1 type drugs have been heralded as a breakthrough

00:18class of medication. They mimic a hormone naturally produced which slows digestion and

00:25makes people feel fuller for longer. They were originally used to treat people with type

00:292 diabetes and they're still used for that but increasingly they're being used to help

00:34people with weight loss. Now under these guidelines released by the World Health Organization,

00:40they recommend using these GLP-1 based drugs long term for weight management for people

00:46with obesity alongside behavioural therapies like diet, exercise and also regular counselling

00:53sessions. But they do note that the high costs of these medications and also supply chain

00:58issues have become a barrier to universal access and they say that even if production was rapidly

01:04expanded, projections estimate that fewer than 10% of people who could benefit from these drugs

01:10will actually get them by 2030. So the World Health Organization issued a call to its 194 member

01:18states including Australia to do more to make these drugs more accessible and to make obesity treatment

01:25more accessible and affordable. But this comes Steph after the National Medicines Regulator issued a new

01:31safety warning about these drugs. That's right. These guidelines were released just hours after the

01:36Therapeutic Goods Administration issued a safety alert saying it would update product information about

01:43the potential risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviour on these drugs. Now the Therapeutic Goods Administration

01:49stressed there wasn't enough evidence to suggest these drugs cause suicidal thoughts or behaviour but it did

01:56say that anybody on these drugs experiencing new or worsening depression or suicidal thoughts or behaviour

02:02should immediately contact their doctor. Now having these two reports could be confusing for some people

02:09and so doctors are really stressing that these medications overwhelmingly benefit people who use

02:15them, that they can be really helpful in managing things like type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease

02:22as an example and they say that like all medication these medications should be used with doctor

02:27oversight and doctors can help guide patients, guide them through any potential risks and side effects

02:33that they're experiencing and so their message is very clear that like all medications anyone on

02:39these medications should be using them with a doctor's guidance and that doctor can help them manage any potential side effects.

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