For decades, escalating global obesity prevalence and evidence of its major contribution to the most common causes of death and ill health was, at best, confined to discussions of prevention, and, at worst, stigmatised and ignored in policy, practice, and the media. However, the landscape has evolved rapidly with the use of therapies based on GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity. Landmark developments in 2025 include the WHO global guideline recommending two GLP-1 receptor agonists for obesity care,1 and the inclusion of GLP-1 receptor agonists in the WHO Essential Medicines List to treat people living with obesity and diabetes and either cardiovascular or kidney disease.
For decades, escalating global obesity prevalence and evidence of its major contribution to the most common causes of death and ill health was, at best, confined to discussions of prevention, and, at worst, stigmatised and ignored in policy, practice, and the media. However, the landscape has evolved rapidly with the use of therapies based on GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity. Landmark developments in 2025 include the WHO global guideline recommending two GLP-1 receptor agonists for obesity care,1 and the inclusion of GLP-1 receptor agonists in the WHO Essential Medicines List to treat people living with obesity and diabetes and either cardiovascular or kidney disease.