Wegovy works – at first. That won't end our obesity problem. | Opinion

The pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has claimed that its new weight loss pill will do amazing things for the 100 million Americans living with obesity. However, a study published in January throws cold water on the hype.

Researchers at the University of Oxford analyzed 37 studies and found that people who stopped taking anti-obesity medications experienced “rapid weight regain and reversal of beneficial effects,” returning to their pre-treatment size in under two years. The report concludes that without lifestyle changes aided by medical, nutrition and other professionals, even the best weight loss drugs end up being expensive ways to change nothing at all.

That matters for Novo’s new Wegovy pill. Like other GLP-1 weight loss drugs, it suppresses appetite by mimicking a hormone that signals fullness to the brain. But it is different because it is the first to be available as a tablet rather than a shot. The pill is marketed as opening “new possibilities” for obese Americans in part because it doesn’t require daily injections and is significantly cheaper than existing jabs. Patients can buy the new Wegovy pill for as little as $5 a day or $149 a month at the lowest dose, in sharp contrast to shots that have cost as much as $1,000 monthly.

By suppressing appetite and improving metabolic control, Wegovy can give people a physiological “reset” that diet and willpower alone often fail to deliver. But as an economics teacher and a father of three, I know that there’s far more to any success than a simple pill – especially at Big Pharma’s exorbitant prices.

Wegovy isn't cheap, if you have to keep taking it

Teachers like me use tools all the time to help students. For example, we can have them quickly use artificial intelligence to find answers about mortgage interest rates or savings accounts as part of a broader lesson about personal finance. By giving students homework to talk to their parents about banking and buying homes, we create a holistic learning process by which the student internalizes what those numbers mean.

Then, like a fitness coach partnered with a nutritionist, we take it to the next level. My students are thinking about college, so I help them look 10 years ahead to their first home. How much will they spend on college, what is their potential income from specific degrees and how much savings will they need to buy a home? Thinking through the debt load alone requires researching the initial information, understanding the greater context and then putting everything together into a unique picture for their future.

The same principle applies to wellness. Health is not achieved by a pill; it requires sustained diet, exercise, sleep and daily habits. That highlights the fact that Wegovy isn't cheap if patients have to keep going back for more – and, later in life, deal with expensive and potentially deadly side effects.

It's just like a student who doesn’t understand the role of AI as a tool – not a replacement for thinking – and constantly finds themselves tangled in personal finance challenges.

The final step to major life successes is having a community. For high school students, that starts with parents and teachers. Likewise, as the Oxford researchers showed, significant weight loss gains last longer when the drugs come on top of a comprehensive plan, undoubtedly developed and reinforced with doctors, fitness professionals, nutritionists, and probably family and close community.

Big Pharma wants to dazzle Americans by lowering the upfront cost of weight loss drugs. But when the drugs don’t work without a holistic program, they’re still too expensive at any price.

Anything that helps Americans lose weight, reduces barriers to treatment and makes care more affordable deserves to be welcomed. But let’s not fool ourselves into thinking the drug companies have “solved” obesity.

Alex Ward is a high school economics teacher and a father of three. He and his wife have competed in amateur bodybuilding competitions.