800 million adults are so obese they qualify for weight loss jabs

Nearly 800 million adults around the world are now so overweight they qualify for powerful weight-loss injections such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, according to a major global study.

The research suggests the obesity crisis has reached such a scale that more than one in four adults worldwide now fall into the category where doctors could consider prescribing the jabs.

Researchers analysed health data from more than 810,000 adults across 99 countries, using large national surveys carried out between 2008 and 2021.

When the results were scaled up to reflect global population figures, they found that around 799 million people would meet the threshold for treatment.

The highest rates were seen in Europe and North America, where more than two in five adults qualified – far higher than the global average. Similar levels were only found in the Pacific Islands.

Adults were classed as qualifying if they were clinically obese, or significantly overweight with related health problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes.

In parts of Asia, lower weight thresholds were used because people face serious health risks at lower body weights.

Women were more likely to qualify than men, while eligibility rose sharply with age.

Nearly four in ten people in their late 50s and early 60s met the criteria, compared with fewer than two in ten adults in their late 20s and early 30s.

Weight-loss injections work by curbing appetite, helping people feel fuller for longer and eat less. 

In studies, users often lose 15 to 20 per cent of their body weight – far more than most people manage through dieting alone.

The news comes as experts warned this week that many people who start weight-loss injections may need to stay on them long-term, after a major review found that weight often returns once treatment stops.  

The study, led by researchers at Oxford University and published in The British Medical Journal, examined 37 studies involving more than 9,300 people and found that weight typically returned within two years of quitting the jabs – often much faster than in people who lost weight through diet and exercise alone.

On average, users regained around a pound a month after stopping treatment, with many projected to return to their starting weight within 17 to 20 months.

Improvements in blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol were also found to fade after the drugs were withdrawn.

Senior author of the latest research into global obesity, Dr Jennifer Manne-Goehler, of Mass General Brigham, said the drugs had transformed understanding of obesity.

‘For decades, we told people the problem was simply eating too much and moving too little,’ she said.

‘These medicines show that biology plays a much bigger role than we once thought.’

The World Health Organization is now examining ways to make weight loss jabs more widely available, but cost and supply remain major hurdles. In many countries, the injections are only available privately and can cost hundreds of pounds a month.

Despite this, experts stress that medication alone will not solve the obesity crisis and must be paired with broader changes to food policy and long-term support.