Patient-centric solutions to limit obesity footprint

Obesity is one of the biggest health concerns faced by millions leading to serious complications, including heart conditions, diabetes, and sleep apnea. Many healthcare scholars believe the environment, socioeconomic conditions, and genetics are contributing factors. 

What is obesity footprint? 

It is the environmental impact that obese people have, owing to higher consumption of foods than non-obese individuals. Due to the increased consumption, there is a ripple effect with increased food production and transportation, releasing more carbon emissions into the environment. As the environmental impact of obesity is increasing, solutions must be devised immediately. 

What measures can limit obesity footprint?

Consider it a disease

Obesity must be considered a disease for effective obesity treatment solutions, which will also create personalized treatments that work for patients living in diverse socioeconomic conditions.  Obesity medications must work beyond weight loss to limit the root cause of this disease. Drug development companies must take advice from healthcare consulting firms to incorporate broad clinical data for devising obesity therapies. In the long run, payers, patients, and providers will differentiate obesity solutions based on their auxiliary benefits and prices.

Pursue mass market

Now is the time to pursue a mass market to cater to a large number of patients. The market has a huge gap in the supply of obesity treatments. Pharmaceutical companies should improve their production capacity, pricing strategy, and manufacturing innovation. They can partner with healthcare consulting firms and other partners to develop holistic obesity solutions.

Align payers with long-term vision

One of the biggest challenges in the management of obesity is the non-alignment of payers in covering glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in healthcare insurance. It is vital to bring them on board to create patient-centric obesity solutions. They must readjust their budgets to prioritize obese patients, creating a robust road map to reduce the obesity footprint.

Address obesity drivers

Addressing obesity drivers is crucial to control this health crisis. These include the surplus supply of unhealthy foods, a sedentary lifestyle, and a lack of awareness. Tight regulations around unhealthy food, price-effective medications and therapies, and individual awareness can reverse its rise.

Obesity is a health crisis that is putting a lot of pressure on public health infrastructure. Significant steps must be taken for obesity control and management. A strategic approach to creating new medications and therapies is the starting point. Individual accountability can help manage this health crisis effectively.