Health and productivity losses from obesity ‘far exceed costs of weight-loss vaccines’

Rising health care costs and lost productivity caused by the global obesity crisis far outweigh the cost of new weight-loss drugs, a report says. It also calls on governments to prioritize prevention by promoting healthy diets and exercise.

In the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, there is a clear economic case for the drugs, the report says, as the annual cost of the diabetes drug Ozempic is lower than the cost of additional healthcare needed by people with obesity. The cost of the slimming injection Wegovy is higher but still dwarfed by the overall economic cost to society of obesity, according to the ING Bank research shared with the Guardian.

Both drugs, made by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, are hugely popular, as are Zepbound and Mounjaro from American company Eli Lilly. As weekly injections, they work like a gut hormone known as GLP-1, which makes people feel fuller and helps them lose weight. Recent studies have also shown other health benefits.

Obesity rates have risen sharply in recent decades, and there are now more overweight people worldwide than undernourished. The new wave of GLP-1 drugs could help reverse this trend, although there are questions about how long their effects last. They also come with a hefty price tag, especially Wegovy.

Obesity is associated with health problems such as heart disease, joint problems and diabetes, all of which are expensive to treat.

ING healthcare analyst Diederik Stadig has calculated that the total cost of obesity to the UK is £100 billion a year, of which £19 billion is borne by the NHS. The healthcare cost is equivalent to €1,700 (£1,400) per person per year, compared with €2,400 in Germany, €2,300 in the Netherlands and €2,500 in the US.

A year’s supply of Ozempic, which is also prescribed for weight loss, costs £830 in the UK, while Wegovy costs £2,760 a year. This compares with €1,100 for Ozempic in Germany and the Netherlands, and €10,100 in the US. A year’s supply of Wegovy costs €3,500 in Germany, €3,200 in the Netherlands and €14,500 in the US. The US generally pays higher prices for the drugs.

The analysis is based on catalogue prices, which are often higher than the prices actually paid.

According to Stadig, health care costs account for about a quarter of the total cost of obesity to society. This includes lost economic productivity and personal costs for people with obesity, such as additional transportation, clothing and adapted housing.

“If the drugs are effective in the long term, people will live healthier lives, there will be less loss of productivity, the costs to the private sector will be lower and the quality of life will be higher… If you can stop obesity in a significant number of people, you can save people a lot of discomfort, but you can also save society money,” he said.

People with obesity take twice as much time off from work, according to recent research from the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna, conducted in 26 European countries.

“Obesity can lead to more than 80 diseases, from depression to heart attacks,” said Thomas Czypionka, head of the institute’s health economics and policy research group. “Obesity patients take more sick days. There is a labor shortage all over Europe; it is a huge problem for economies.”

He predicts that prices for obesity drugs will fall in the coming years as more drugs come onto the market. But for now, governments should prioritize the drugs that pose the greatest risk.

Stadig cautioned that the long-term effects of the drugs were uncertain. One study found that once individuals stopped taking semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, they regained two-thirds of their weight within a year. The drugs have side effects such as nausea and stomach pain and many people stop taking them after a while.

While doctors typically prescribe only weight-loss drugs alongside a diet and exercise plan, governments need to do more to combat obesity, Stadig said. He suggested using VAT as a tool to promote healthy eating, charging little or no VAT on vegetables and imposing a higher tax on fast food.