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WHO Issues First Guidelines for GLP-1 Obesity Treatments

Do weight loss drugs dangerously ignore the root causes of obesity, or do they offer a critical breakthrough for a chronic disease?

Published 3 days ago

WHO Issues First Guidelines for GLP-1 Obesity Treatments

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Above: Boxes of Ozempic and Mounjaro injection pens in London, on Oct. 20, 2025. Image credit: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

GLP-1 therapies represent a significant breakthrough in treating obesity, offering an effective form of treatment that extends beyond weight loss to other complications, like diabetes. As part of a comprehensive approach to care, these drugs could revolutionize health outcomes for millions, which is why it is essential to ensure universal access to these therapies as soon as possible.

WHO JAMA Network

Establishment-critical narrative

Weight loss drugs fail to address the real problem of obesity and create dangerous dependencies. These medications fail to teach healthier eating habits and come with serious side effects like nausea and depression, with patients typically regaining weight after ending treatment. Weight loss drugs, therefore, ignore the root causes of obesity in favor of temporarily treating the symptoms.

The Telegraph The Pharmaceutical Journal

Metaculus Prediction

There is a 74% chance that a small molecule GLP-1-based drug will be approved for the treatment of obesity by the FDA or EMA by 2029, according to the Metaculus prediction community.