Health
GLP-1 drugs may reach fewer than one in 10 people who need them, experts predict
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced its official guidance on the use of GLP-1 drugs for treating obesity.
GLP-1 drugs are medications that mimic the natural hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which are most commonly used for type 2 diabetes and medical weight loss.
The first guideline, released on Dec. 1, aims to address the “growing global health challenge of obesity,” WHO wrote in a press release.
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Obesity affects more than one billion people globally and was associated with 3.7 million deaths. The number of people with obesity is expected to double by 2030.
While GLP-1 medications were added to the WHO’s Essential Medicines List for managing type 2 diabetes in high-risk groups in September 2025, the new guideline adds two key “conditional recommendations” for people with obesity.
The World Health Organization has announced its official guidance on the use of GLP-1 drugs for treating obesity. (Reuters/Denis Balibouse/File Photo)
“GLP-1 therapies may be used by adults, but excluding pregnant women, for the long-term treatment of obesity,” the first condition states.
“While the efficacy of these therapies in treating obesity and improving metabolic and other outcomes was evident, the recommendation is conditional due to limited data on their long-term efficacy and safety, maintenance and discontinuation, their current costs, inadequate health-system preparedness and potential equity implications.”
“Our new guidance recognizes that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong care.”
The second condition allows “intensive behavioral interventions,” including healthy diets, regular physical activity and support from health professionals, to be offered to adults with obesity who are prescribed a GLP-1, as part of a “comprehensive approach.”
The price of health
In addition to the health impacts, the cost of obesity is projected to hit $3 trillion annually by 2030. The WHO’s guideline attempts to reduce “skyrocketing” health costs associated with management of the condition and other complications.
The WHO guideline emphasized the importance of fair access to GLP-1 therapies.
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“Without deliberate policies, access to these therapies could exacerbate existing health disparities,” they wrote. “WHO calls for urgent action on manufacturing, affordability and system readiness to meet global needs.”
“GLP-1 therapies may be used by adults, but excluding pregnant women, for the long-term treatment of obesity,” the first condition states. (iStock)
Despite the “rapid expansion” of GLP-1 production, the health agency revealed that by 2030, these therapies are predicted to reach less than 10% of people who could benefit from them.
“The guideline calls on the global community to consider strategies to expand access, such as pooled procurement, tiered pricing and voluntary licensing among others,” WHO stated.
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Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, wrote in a statement addressing the guideline that obesity is a “major global health challenge that WHO is committed to addressing by supporting countries and people worldwide to control it, effectively and equitably.”
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“Our new guidance recognizes that obesity is a chronic disease that can be treated with comprehensive and lifelong care,” he said. “While medication alone won’t solve this global health crisis, GLP-1 therapies can help millions overcome obesity and reduce its associated harms.”
The new WHO guideline offers support for those with obesity by offering behavioral interventions like diet, exercise and access to doctors. (iStock)
The agency added that obesity is a “complex, chronic disease” that is a driver of other illnesses like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
While GLP-1 therapies alone won’t solve the obesity problem, these therapies represent the “first efficacious treatment option for adults,” WHO stated.
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The organization stressed that obesity requires creating healthier environments to promote wellness and prevent obesity, protecting high-risk individuals through screening and early interventions and ensuring lifelong access to healthcare.
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At 75, Jane Seymour isn’t fighting the years under her belt — she’s leaning into them. The former Bond girl in “Live and Let Die” and star of “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” has a simple outlook on aging: She’s just grateful for the opportunity.
Her perspective shifted radically in her 40s after a near-death experience involving anaphylactic shock, according to an interview the actress did with Women’s Health.
“I remember looking at my body from above and thinking, ‘That’s your vehicle. I am responsible for taking care of this car,’” Seymour recalled.
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The actress shared the following four key habits she uses to navigate her 70s with vitality.
1. Embrace a positive attitude
Seymour’s perspective shifted in her 40s after a near-death experience involving anaphylactic shock, she told Women’s Health. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation)
For Seymour, the mental game of aging is just as important as the physical. She said she approaches every day with a sense of optimism, which she describes as “getting up and not giving up.”
In a recent interview with Future of Personal Health, Seymour said that being depressed over lost youth is “redundant.” Instead of mourning the past, she embraces the present.
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“You were 20, and you had whatever that experience was,” she said. “Now, maybe you’re 70, and it’s a whole new world.”
2. Know your body
Seymour’s fitness routine is built on consistency rather than intensity, she shared. The actress aims to work out at least three times a week, but refuses to push herself to the point of injury.
“You were 20, and you had whatever that experience was,” she said. “Now, maybe you’re 70, and it’s a whole new world.” (Jane Seymour/Instagram)
“I listen to my body,” she told Women’s Health. “I’m not going to overdo it.”
Seymour’s workouts focus on strengthening her core, arms and legs. While her preference is the reformer (a Pilates machine), she is highly adaptable.
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When traveling without workout equipment, Seymour said she performs bodyweight exercises, even doing incline press-ups against a kitchen counter.
“I’m not going to pretend I’m 20 when I’m 70,” she said. “I’m going to be the best I can be at the age I am.”
3. Nourish your body
Rather than fighting the natural signs of a life well-lived, Seymour said she views her appearance as a professional asset.
Seymour focuses on a rigorous skincare and nutritional routine to maintain the “vehicle” she was given, she said. (Emma Mcintyre/Getty Images)
“I’m not chasing wrinkles,” she added. “My laugh lines and even my frown lines are useful in my work – they’re part of my toolkit.”
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The actress said she focuses on a rigorous skincare and nutritional routine to maintain the “vehicle” she was given.
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This includes a daily regimen of exfoliation and hydration, alongside a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
“I’m going to be the best I can be at the age I am.”
When her filming schedule makes fresh meals difficult, Seymour supplements with antioxidant blends to ensure there are “no nutritional gaps,” aiming for a holistic balance that allows her to “think sharper and move stronger.”
4. Nourish your mind
Perhaps the most profound tool in Seymour’s toolkit, she said, is her commitment to purpose. Inspired by her mother, a survivor of WWII concentration camps, Seymour believes that longevity is tied to how much one gives back to the world.
Seymour, inspired by her mother, a survivor of WWII concentration camps, created Open Hearts Foundation to give back to the community. (Jane Seymour/Instagram)
“My mother always said there’s someone worse off than you, and you can find purpose by helping others – listening and making them feel heard,” she shared.
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This philosophy led Seymour to found the Open Hearts Foundation, a nonprofit that empowers others through grant-making and volunteerism.
“That’s the best way to end the day — knowing it wasn’t wasted.”
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The idea that aging is a steady, predictable process is being challenged by a new book, which describes a so-called “flicker stage” where some aspects of aging may briefly reverse.
Stuart Kaplan and Marcus Riley, authors of the book “Your Aging Advantage,” say aging may be more fluid than chronological age alone would suggest. They call this phenomenon the “flicker stage,” just one of seven stages of aging.
The “flicker stage” suggests functional age isn’t fixed, with people shifting between levels of youth and vitality based on lifestyle and mindset, the authors state.
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Periods of feeling significantly younger, followed by times of feeling one’s age, may reflect what the authors describe as the “flicker stage.”
Riley said healthier aging involves “flickering back” to a younger state, noting that while stress or setbacks can make people feel older, those shifts aren’t permanent.
The secret to aging healthier is learning how to “flicker back” to a younger state when life pushes you forward, the authors said. (Milan Markovic/iStock)
“Through positive interventions, we have the ability to flicker back to the stage of age we want to be in … these setbacks or unforeseen circumstances might propel us to a different stage of aging, but we have this ability to flip it back through positive intervention.”
“Aging or growing older is [not] a problem to fix… it’s an opportunity to be seized.”
Riley said this requires identifying personal “flicker triggers” — physical, psychological, social or environmental shifts that help reset one’s pace, such as exercise or renewed social connection.
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Most people already live with a “feels-like” age that doesn’t match their chronological age, said Kaplan, comparing it to a weather report.
“In the summertime, the weatherperson might say it’s 85 degrees outside, but with the humidity, it feels like 95… The feels-like age is the lived age, as compared to the chronological age or the age on your birth certificate.”
The authors suggest that engaging in your community is one way to activate the flicker stage. (iStock)
Focusing on the “lived age” may allow people to intentionally shift into a younger stage, according to the authors.
Instead of “aging in place,” which focuses on where one lives, they suggest focusing on “aging on pace.”
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“It’s more about what’s important to us on a personal level… do we want to stay in employment and work for as long as we can? Do we want to be shifting gears… and pursuing other interests and pastimes that are important to us?” Riley asked.
Kaplan said the common focus on age 65 as a point of decline reflects a socially imposed retirement benchmark, not a biological marker.
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“It comes from the Social Security Act that was created in 1935 in the United States. And here we are 90 years later, and we’re still thinking that 65 is an important age…. We didn’t use the word retirement back then. I mean, have you ever seen a farmer back in the 1800s… that says, ‘Oh, we’re going to retire because Grandpa is now going to be 62 or 65 years old?’”
The flicker effect works best when you stop viewing aging as a “downhill” perspective, the experts said. (iStock)
The flicker effect works best when you stop viewing aging as a “downhill” perspective, Riley and Kaplan said.
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Even after a health setback shifts someone into a later stage, maintaining a positive and active approach may help move them back toward an earlier stage of aging, according to the authors.
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Ultimately, the goal is to stop seeing the passage of time as a problem to be solved, Riley said.
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“Aging or growing older is [not] a problem to fix.… We want the mindset [that] it’s an opportunity to be seized.”
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