Solutions for a new generation of obesity treatment

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HCPs must accept that obesity is a disease

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While healthcare providers may recognize obesity as a disease in the abstract, too many continue to treat it as a product of bad behavior. Decreasing society’s obesity-related health problems will require individualized treatment solutions that use every tool at our disposal—including coaching, technology, lifestyle changes, smart policy and drugs.

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Manufacturers must pursue innovation, including oral GLP-1s

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Today, only a small percentage of the approximately 130 million adults in the U.S. eligible for obesity drugs can access them—to say nothing of those outside the U.S. Pharma must continue to explore innovative commercial models, including telehealth, direct-to-patient models, trading margin for expanding access and partnering across the ecosystem to offer holistic obesity solutions.

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Payers must accept that covering GLP-1s is both the right and the smart thing to do

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Payers can’t cover weight-loss drugs for every eligible patient at current prices without exploding their budgets. Pharma must convince payers that enabling patients to maintain a healthy weight will save money and lives in the long term.

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Everyone must understand global consumer motivations

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Weight management is ultimately a consumer-driven journey shaped by deeply personal motivations, cultural norms and economic realities. ZS research shows striking differences in how people across markets think about obesity, what drives their choices and how they weigh drugs like GLP-1s against lifestyle change. Pharma and health systems that truly listen to consumers will design more accessible, sustainable obesity solutions that meet people where they are.

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Society must address all of obesity’s drivers—not only the easy or obvious ones

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As long as food subsidies underwrite a steady supply of unhealthy food and historical inequities drive disparities in access to quality healthcare, obesity as a public health crisis will persist. Reversing its rise will require principled leadership to enact policies that influence both the individual and environmental drivers of obesity.

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How can pharma build sustainable portfolios in the fast-evolving obesity and metabolic disease market?

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The GLP-1 era is redefining what “obesity treatment” means—a broad term encompassing lifestyle and metabolic interventions to multi-indication therapies that touch cardiovascular, renal and neurological health. Pharma companies now face pressure to diversify portfolios, accelerate pipeline development and plan for adjacent indications.

ZS helps clients design end-to-end obesity strategies: from discovery and target prioritization to in-silico trial design, pricing and market access planning. We combine analytics, real-world data and commercial strategy expertise to help companies compete sustainably as the category expands beyond weight loss.

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What strategies can health plans use to balance GLP-1 drug access with long-term affordability?

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Payers are being forced to choose between meeting member demand and protecting financial sustainability. ZS research shows that thoughtful benefit design, outcomes-based contracting and predictive care management can contain costs while improving member health.

We work with payers to model the lifetime economics of obesity treatment, define eligibility and utilization criteria, and develop innovative contracts that link payments to outcomes. In this way, GLP-1 access can align with both fiscal and population-health goals.

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How can healthcare providers (HCPs) integrate obesity pharmacotherapy into broader models of preventive and chronic care?

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GLP-1s are blurring the lines between obesity care, cardiometabolic health and preventive medicine. Providers need tools to identify the right patients, coordinate with payers and manage ongoing care that align with patient goals. This means care that is customized to what patients want to achieve but also to the social, behavioral and environmental factors that shape their outcomes.

ZS helps health systems and provider groups design care pathways that integrate pharmacotherapy with lifestyle and behavioral health interventions to improve adherence, outcomes and equity.

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How are new U.S. pricing models changing the obesity drug market?

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Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) negotiations and programs like TrumpRx are setting new price anchors for GLP-1s, expanding access but compressing margins. Pharma companies now must decide when to trade price for reach, how to design direct-to-patient and payer programs that protect value and how to compete when affordability becomes a key differentiator.

ZS helps clients model price elasticity, assess policy impact and craft commercialization strategies that turn access into long-term advantage.

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How should pharma use consumer insights to shape GLP-1 strategy beyond weight loss?

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A consumer-centric view shows GLP-1s currently serve a narrow slice of the population—health and longevity seekers—while large segments, such as those motivated by general “wellness,” are underserved. Winners will pair GLP-1s with solutions that address unmet “jobs to be done”: preventing regain, side-effect management, motivation, nutrition and care navigation.

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