The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) new guideline on Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) medicines signals a significant shift in how we manage obesity globally. According to the WHO, the guideline calls on the global community to consider strategies to expand access, such as pooled procurement, tiered pricing, and voluntary licensing.While the guideline does not explicitly insist on classifying obesity as a distinct disease, the question naturally arises – should it be?
GLP-1 medicines address appetite, cravings, and metabolism, and can considerably help appropriate patients as potent tools for obesity care. But unless India formally recognises obesity as a chronic disease, access, affordability, and standard prescribing guidelines will remain inconsistent, experts advocate.
Calling the new WHO guidance on GLP-1 medicines “a landmark moment”, Dr Rajiv Kovil, Head of Diabetology and a weight-loss expert at Zandra healthcare, and Co-founder of Rang De Neela Initiative, urged that india must first recognize obesity as a disease, not a lifestyle flaw. “Without this essential shift, policies, insurance coverage, and access to modern treatments will remain fragmented,” said Dr Kovil.
As a clinical dietician and diabetes educator helping people manage obesity for the last 17 years, Kanikka Malhotra too said that recognising obesity as a chronic health condition does help create stronger systems of care: it leads to structured screening, long-term support, insurance coverage, and access to evidence-based treatments. “It moves obesity away from a blame-based narrative and into a medically supported one,” said Malhotra.
Why hasn’t India officially classified obesity as a disease?
Although a national expert panel is currently drafting India’s first formal obesity guidelines,the condition still lacks official disease status in the country.
The hesitation stems from long-standing cultural beliefs that weight gain is solely a behavioural issue. Policy growth has not kept pace with progress in metabolic science, rued Dr Pranav Ghody, consultant endocrinologist and diabetologist at wockhardt Hospitals, Mumbai Central.
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There are also worries about healthcare costs if millions of Indians suddenly fall under a “disease” category, which has left obesity in a policy gray area, pointed out Dr Ghody.
Understanding obesity and the need for classification for the patients and the systems
From an endocrinology outlook, obesity is primarily a hormonal and metabolic disorder. “Appetite regulation, insulin sensitivity, fat storage, and energy expenditure are all controlled by complex endocrine pathways,” said Dr Ghody.
When we label obesity as a disease, it shifts the focus to these biological factors instead of treating patients as if they lack discipline, as described by Dr Ghody. Recognising it as a disease legitimises medical care, encourages early diagnosis, reduces stigma, and “brings India in line with global scientific consensus on metabolic health”.
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For a long time, obesity has often been seen as a matter of personal choice. Many people worry about the rising cost of healthcare and think delaying treatment is a way to save money.But experts say waiting only makes the problem worse,” said Dr. Salvi. Even if all 12 GLP-1 medicines were made at their maximum capacity, they woudl only reach about 10 percent of the 800-900 million people worldwide who have obesity, noted Dr. Kovil. “The other 90 percent will need to focus on prevention – eating better, learning about food in schools, and understanding public health information. That’s why calling obesity a disease is so important,” dr.Kovil explained. Story continues below this ad Obesity is a global problem, affecting people in every country. The World Health Institution (WHO) says it was linked to 3.7 million deaths worldwide in 2024. The WHO warns that without action, the number of people with obesity coudl double by 2030. According to Dr. Kovil, if we correctly identify obesity as a disease, we can start to fix many issues. These include inaccurate food labels, marketing that isn’t well-controlled, prices where unhealthy drinks are cheaper then healthy foods, and a lack of access to nutritious options. 2025/12/08 07:52:25 Related reading
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