Novo Nordisk has begun a vital year for its weight loss franchise with a push to understand how obesity hits differently depending on factors such as culture, gender and generation. The research informed an exhibit in New York about what Novo has dubbed the obesity trap.
After surveying more than 2,000 U.S. adults, Novo identified competing forces that make people living with obesity feel caught between multiple personal and societal stressors. The competing forces include biology versus culture, personal efforts versus systemic barriers, and internal motivation versus external stigma.
Novo is pitching the State of Weight and Health Report based on the survey as a resource that can help people identify traps. The report, the first in a series of planned annual documents, discusses how traps vary across demographic groups.
Ed Cinca, senior vice president of marketing and patient solutions at Novo, said in a statement that the report is designed to “deepen understanding of the many factors that shape the lived experience of obesity.” The report reflects the individual biology and societal structures that contribute to obesity.
Discussing how different people with obesity get caught in the trap, Novo said 30% of Generation Z adults have paused their social lives over weight concerns, and 25% of women have delayed medical care because they fear being judged. Men are less likely than women to focus on emotional and mental well-being as a way of managing obesity-related stigma or bias, coping instead by focusing on healthy family routines.
Novo took its message to the people by setting up an exhibit at New York’s Grand Central Terminal. In a major thoroughfare at the commuter rail terminal, Novo invited people to explore three dimensions of the obesity trap. The exhibit ran from Jan. 5 to Jan. 7.
The obesity awareness push comes as Novo looks to bounce back from a tough 2025. Facing competition from Eli Lilly and compounders, Novo was forced to lower its guidance and chose to change its CEO. The Danish drugmaker has a chance to regain ground in 2026, with the launch of its Wegovy pill at a cash-pay price of $149 a month giving it a—potentially short—first-mover advantage in the oral GLP-1 space.