Obesity today is a serious global health burden. As per the World health organisation, “during the years 1975 to 2016, the prevalence of overweight or obese children and adolescents aged 5–19 years increased more than four-fold from 4% to 18% globally”. In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these, over 650 million were obese.
Apart from high-calorie intake and low physical activity, genes, medical conditions, sedentary lifestyle, age, socio-economic conditions, sex, stress, depression, ceasing smoking, low sleep pattern, hormonal activity and pregnancy, are some of the risk factors for the obesity.
The treatment option for obesity mainly depends on its causes and severity. Some of these include lifestyle intervention, pharmacotherapy, and weight-loss procedures (including bariatric surgery). Over the years, significant progress has occurred in all three modalities which have improved people’s lives with obesity.
Today, at the global level, some of the key companies such as Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Gelesis, Novo Nordisk, Saniona, Medix, MedImmune, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Gubra Pharma, and others are involved in developing therapies for obesity. The launch of the treatments in the coming years will significantly improve people’s lives affected by obesity.
Source: Overweight and Obesity Pandemic