Advancing understandings of GLP-1s and health equity in Australia

About

Obesity and overweight are longstanding major public health problems and are now said to be the leading factors contributing to the total disease burden in 2024.

In 2022, 32% of Australian adults met the criteria for obesity, a complex, systemic and highly stigmatised condition that is understood to increase the risk of developing related chronic diseases including type II diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, and many other health conditions.

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are a class of medications that mimic the hormone GLP-1 to treat chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and obesity by regulating blood sugar and promoting weight loss. Medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound are increasingly prescribed as a pharmaceutical weight-loss medication due to their off-label effects of reducing hunger, cravings and food noise.

Greeted by some as a valuable new approach to treating food addiction and overeating, there is renewed optimism that these drugs might cure obesity and related chronic health conditions.

However, there are concerns that the widespread uptake of pharmaceutical weight-loss medications may impede the government’s existing health equity approach to improve food access and environments, and weight stigma reduction initiatives.

With little high-quality data to guide policy and regulatory development, these rapid developments represent a ‘watershed moment’ in Australia’s approach to chronic health management and health equity more broadly.

Aims

Our GLP-1s and health equity working group brought together sociological, social science, medical anthropology and gender studies researchers, along with government representatives, chronic disease peak bodies and consumer organisations to discuss and shape future research priorities and co-design around GLP-1 medications and health equity in Australia.

The working group aims to:

1. Map key issues, priorities and knowledge gaps for future research in Australia on GLP-1s and the treatment of chronic health conditions;
2. Develop an understanding of the policy, practice and resourcing needs of peak bodies and affected communities to inform research design and dissemination;
3. Through consultation, develop a better understanding of what a health equity approach to GLP-1s might entail, including through discussion of stigma, inequality, systems change and gender.

Project Team

Dr Renae Fomiatti, ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow, ARCSHS, La Trobe University

A/Prof Julia Coffey, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Newcastle

Dr Sophie Chao, ARC DECRA Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Anthropology, University of Sydney

A/Prof Alka Menon, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Yale University

Prof Kari Lancaster, Professor, University of Bath

Dr Gemma Nourse, Research Associate, ARCSHS, La Trobe University

External Collaborators

Annette Panzera, National Policy Manager, Diabetes Australia

Professor Tim Gill, The Obesity Collective

Monica Garner, The Obesity Collective

Andrew Wilson, Weight Issues Network

Dr Kathryn Williams, Australia New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS), Clinical Lead and Manager, Nepean Family Metabolic Health Service and HoD