BIG market for Big Pharma: Survey finds 22% of US kids are OBESE

08/18/2022 / By Mary Villareal

Around 22 percent of American children aged two to five and 12 to 19 are obese.

This equated to a significant rise in obesity rates, which were only 18 percent in the two cohorts a decade prior – as per a new analysis of nationwide health survey data. Only children aged six to 11 were exempt from the weight gain trend.

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) higher than 30 as compared to overweight, which means having more than normal weight for someone’s height, age and gender.

The new numbers came from a survey conducted by researchers at Louisiana State University‘s Pennington Biomedical Research Centers. They analyzed data from almost 15,000 American children and teenagers from 2010 to 2020.

While the analysis did not find any difference in obesity rates among different races and ethnicities, it found significant differences along gender lines. Obesity among boys went from 18 percent in 2010 to 21.4 percent in 2020. Meanwhile, obesity among girls went from 17 percent in 2010 to 21.6 percent in 2020.

All in all, youth obesity increased from 17.7 percent to 21.5 percent in that 10-year period.

Pediatrician and GMO Science Executive Director Dr. Michelle Perro pointed out that obese children experience subsequent downstream health disasters similar to adults. These include health issues like diabetes, metabolic dysregulation and cardiovascular disease, and mental issues like anxiety and depression.

“Obese children are also subject to bullying and low self-esteem,” she added. “Once again, our attention turns to one of the most tenacious and steadily increasing health crises in children.”

The pediatrician lamented that in a “predictable fashion,” people are are not examining the root causes behind the soaring rates of obesity in children such as diet and chemicals. (Related: US facing obesity problem as poor parents feed their children cheap, unhealthy foods.)

Associate professor Amanda Staiano, who was among the authors of the study, said children are gaining even more weight because of the restrictions in their diets and activities – which was rather “alarming.”

Big Pharma seeing obese children as cash cows

Speaking to MedPageToday, Staiano warned that childhood obesity has an established association with cardiometabolic comorbidities later in life.

“Obesity is a chronic disease that will involve multiple check-ins and monitoring progress throughout childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood,” she said. “Pediatric healthcare providers should also be advocates for healthy environments. We all should contribute to creating healthier eating and activity environments for our children to thrive.”

But while doctors see obesity as a problem to be tackled, Big Pharma sees an opportunity to make money.

Fierce Pharma reported that analysts at Morgan Stanley Research (MSR) projected profits for its drug manufacturer clients. It said that pharmaceutical giants like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk “are poised to unlock a global obesity market that could be worth more than $50 billion by the end of the decade.”

The prices for two diabetes and weight-loss drugs both recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration – Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide) – contributed to the bullish forecasts. The two injectable drugs projected profit margins as high as 40 percent, with MSR analysts subsequently projecting a $54 billion market within seven and a half years.

Obesity is now “on the cusp of moving into mainstream primary care management” since being classified as a chronic disease in 2013 as it can be treated directly instead of treating its consequences, MSR analysts said.

“Therefore, we expect excess weight and fat loss to become treatment targets for obesity and for treatment guidelines to adopt obesity as a primary target ahead of other associated diseases.”