The Global Debate on Obesity Management Medicines
From Connecting Citizens to Science by The SCL Agency
May 19, 2026 · 23 min · Episode 90
About this episode
This episode explores the global debate on obesity management medicines, focusing on GLP-1 drugs and their implications for health equity and access.
Weight loss drugs are increasingly dominating headlines, but should they instead be understood as obesity management medicines? This episode of Connecting Citizens to Science explores the growing global debate surrounding GLP-1 medicines, obesity as a complex chronic disease, and the wider implications for health systems, equity and access across different global contexts. The discussion examines the benefits these medicines may offer beyond weight reduction, alongside concerns around affordability, regulation, stigma and widening inequalities between those who can access treatment safely and those who cannot. In this episode: Dr Fatima Cody Stanford - Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr Fatima is an obesity medicine physician-scientist whose work focuses on obesity as a chronic disease, cardiometabolic health and improving equitable access to evidence-based care. Alongside her clinical and research work, she contributes to national and international policy discussions through roles including the Lancet Commission on Obesity and the 2025 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, while also mentoring…
People in this episode
Guests: Dr Fatima Cody Stanford, Dr Swarup K. Chakrabarti
Topics covered
- obesity management
- GLP-1 medicines
- health systems
- equity and access
- chronic disease
- affordability
- stigma
Keywords
- obesity
- weight loss drugs
- GLP-1
- chronic disease
- health equity
- access to treatment
- affordability
- stigma
- inequalities
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Lancet Commission on Obesity, 2025 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Biotech Consulting Services
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