Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are gaining popularity, but experts caution that they are not a magical solution to Europe’s complex and multifactorial obesity problem.
The demand for weight loss medications is on the rise, with Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Wegovy and Ozempic, reaping significant profits. These profits have contributed substantially to Denmark’s economic growth.
Kjeld Møller Pedersen, a professor of health economics at the University of Southern Denmark, notes that the increasing demand for weight loss drugs reflects the significant issue of obesity in welfare societies, emphasizing that people perceive it as a problem.
Obesity is a multifaceted disease, as described in the World Health Organization’s 2022 report on obesity in Europe. This condition heightens the risk of numerous non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, 13 types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
Obesity causes more than 1.2 million deaths annually across the WHO European Region, ranking as the fourth leading cause of death, following high blood pressure, dietary risks, and tobacco use. It is also a major contributor to disability and places substantial burdens on healthcare systems.
The Body Mass Index (BMI), a measure of weight-to-height ratio, designates a person as obese if their BMI exceeds 30. While BMI has been criticized for not accurately assessing an individual’s health, it is still widely used, supported by strong evidence linking it to health issues.
Spain, for instance, faces a concerning obesity problem, with 62% of its population overweight and 24% classified as obese, according to the WHO.
The exorbitant prices of weight loss drugs, such as Wegovy, have posed challenges for healthcare systems. Prices starting at around €170 per month, escalating to €300 as dosages increase, are a barrier to access. While Ozempic, approved for treating type 2 diabetes, can be reimbursed by some health systems, Wegovy, solely approved for weight loss, cannot. Both medicines contain semaglutide, an appetite-reducing substance.
In Denmark, the expected reimbursement costs for semaglutide-containing medicines, like Wegovy, have surged to approximately 1.1 billion DKK (€147.6 million euros), nearly doubling the previous year’s expenditure.
These high costs undermine the feasibility of weight loss medicines as a quick fix for health systems battling obesity. Pedersen highlights that if every Danish individual with a BMI over 30 were prescribed the most potent medicine, it would cost around 24 billion DKK (€3.2 billion) annually under current reimbursement rules.
Addressing obesity effectively requires a multifaceted approach beyond medications, including measures like taxing high-sugar products. While Novo’s weight loss medicines may be effective, Pedersen suggests that they may not be as impactful as broader interventions.
Francesco Branca, WHO director of nutrition and food safety, echoes this sentiment, emphasizing that such drugs are not a “silver bullet.” The WHO recommends interventions like marketing restrictions, taxation, and school nutrition to combat obesity. However, WHO Europe’s Kremlin Wickramasinghe points out that no country has fully implemented these recommendations due to barriers such as prioritization and training issues in the health workforce.
Furthermore, tackling obesity presents unique challenges, as many prevention measures fall outside the health ministry’s purview. Measures like labeling, taxation, marketing regulations, and urban planning extend beyond the health sector’s jurisdiction.
In sum, while weight loss medications offer potential benefits, they are far from a comprehensive solution to Europe’s obesity epidemic, which demands a holistic and multifaceted approach.
