Obesity
An obesity pandemic: The greatest healthcare challenge of our time
The worldwide prevalence of obesity has nearly tripled since the mid-1970s, with over a billion people suffering from obesity today. In the U.S., more than 40% of the population are considered to have obesity. Each year, approximately 3 million people die due to complications from overweight or obesity. This is equivalent to the total estimated number of global deaths attributable to COVID-19 during 2020, just every year.
>1 billion
people living with obesity today
50%
of adults globally are expected to have overweight or obesity by 2030
220+
comorbidities associated with obesity
>5 million
deaths annually ascribed to overweight or obesity
A generational health crisis
The obesity pandemic we are witnessing today is the result of an increasing number of people having lived with overweight or obesity since their 30s and 40s. In the next few decades, we could start seeing the consequences of adults having been obese since they were children or teenagers. In the U.S. today, ~35% of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years live with overweight of obesity. This growing prevalence of people living with overweight and obesity, and the associated [220] comorbidities, represents one of the biggest challenges for healthcare systems globally.
A complex, multifactorial disease requiring more treatment options
Obesity and overweight is a complex disease that may be treated by targeting a number of unique metabolic pathways. For many years, available weight-loss therapies have had limited efficacy and/or, for many, been associated with considerable side effects. Since 2021, two new weight-loss medications with better efficacy and safety profiles have been approved. Nevertheless, the treatment rate today is approximately 2%. Thus, there remains a substantial unmet medical need for more and better treatment options for the very heterogeneous population suffering from overweight and obesity.
We need new treatments that are designed to rebalance the metabolic system, with the potential to reduce and manage body weight with better tolerability for a better patient experience, to induce more fat-specific weight loss while preserving muscle, and that target the many comorbidities associated with obesity.
Listen to Adam Steensberg, Zealand Pharma CEO, discuss the obesity pandemic.
Shaping obesity care for decades to come
Our therapeutic approach to obesity and overweight aims to:
- Achieve high-quality reductions in body weight to enhance long-term health
- Provide additional effects to address specific comorbidities
- Offer alternatives to incretin-based mechanisms
- Improve tolerability for better patient experience and improved treatment persistence
Each molecule in our R&D pipeline is differentiated through therapeutic target, design, or formulation.
All our drug candidates are investigational compounds whose safety and efficacy have not been evaluated or approved for marketing by any regulatory authority.
Patient stories
A story without a finish line: Jess’ lifelong journey with obesity
- Obesity
Jess's journey with obesity has included both setbacks and growth, showing how persistence - not perfection - shapes an ongoing path toward better health.
How a chair made me see my life differently: J's Story
- Obesity
J’s story reflects the realities of living with obesity, from navigating care to finding what works in daily life, and how health is built through practical choices over time.
Learning to live with a body that's always negotiating
- Obesity
Anita's experience with obesity — shaped by family culture, bariatric surgery, and a cancer diagnosis — shows how managing weight is an ongoing, evolving process that requires flexibility and self-compassion.
