Obesity Treatment Market: Obesity Is A Critical Global Issue Progressively Impairing Health
Obesity, A Global Issue
High rate of obesity is a global burden. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 50% of the global population is obese. In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these, over 600 million were found to be obese.
Obesity is associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and orthopedic disorders. Thus, escalating rate of the obese population is fueling the prevalence of chronic diseases. As a result, need for effective obesity treatment solutions to reduce the risk of chronic diseases is rising.
Factors Causing Obesity:
Unhealthy dietary habits and sedentary lifestyles are the prime causes of obesity. Increasing number of nuclear families and families with working parents is leading to a shift in the changing dietary habits. Moreover, globalization and urbanization are resulting in busy schedules, growing stress, and increased computer usage. In addition, lack of exercise and physical activity is increasingly leading to weight gain.
As per the WHO, prevalence of obesity has soared at an alarming rate. Obesity is not only widely prevalent in adults but also in adolescents and children below 18 years of age. Globally, 41 million children under the age of 5 were identified to be overweight in 2014. In addition, the same source of information states the population of obese children to be over an estimated 42 million.
Obesity Treatment:
Presently, various solutions such as diet, exercise, drugs, minimally invasive devices & implants, and invasive surgeries are available for weight management. Obesity is a multifactorial disease involving various physiological and genetic factors that contribute to disease progression. The results of monotherapy are hence limited; thus necessitating a holistic approach in achieving effective obesity control. As a result, a combination of drugs is widely used to treat obesity.
Successful completion of clinical trials and the resultant introduction of innovative and advanced products, such as satiety drugs, are expected to penetrate the market at a significant pace in the near future.
Gastric bypass procedures, a type of bariatric surgery, dominate the market and are closely followed by minimally invasive procedures. Speedy recovery, shorter hospital stays, and the affordable cost are some of the major factors augmenting the demand for minimally invasive surgeries. In addition, government initiatives to promote the adoption of minimally invasive surgeries to reduce the incidence of hospital acquired infections and hospital readmissions are supporting the growth of this market.
Key Players:
The large market potential is attracting many players to the obesity treatment market. In addition, existing players are investing heavily in research and development to enable the expansion of their product portfolio with advanced products. Some of the major players operating in the market include but are not limited to Medtronic, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., VIVUS, Inc., Allergan, USGI Medical, Inc., Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc., Mediflex Surgical Products, F.Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Novo Nordisk A/S, EnteroMedics, Inc., Cousin Biotech, and Ethicon (Subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson).
In-depth report on global obesity treatment market by Grand View Research: