Health · Pharma & Biotech · 13 hrs ago
Obesity campaigns promote weight-loss drugs without naming them
Obesity campaigns in Spain promote weight-loss drugs without naming them because prescription medicine advertising is prohibited there.
The campaigns use broad slogans and websites that list doctors who may prescribe a drug to people who meet certain requirements.
A health marketing expert says they aim to change how people think about obesity, presenting it as an illness with a medical solution and encouraging more people to seek treatment.
The World Health Organization considers obesity a disease, but says it is shaped by social, environmental, biological and behavioural factors.
The article says about one in eight adults in the United States uses weight-loss drugs, while in Spain an estimated 500,000 people did so by late 2025, or 1.2% of adults.
Doctors say the medicines can bring major weight loss and health benefits, but the article argues that drugs alone do not address conditions such as the widespread availability of highly appealing foods.
It says the effects can return when people stop taking the drugs, while the campaigns seek to build interest in treatment rather than make immediate sales.
Obesity campaigns use vague slogans and do not name the prescription weight-loss drugs they promote.
The campaigns direct people to websites listing doctors who may prescribe the medicines if they meet certain requirements.
Marketing expert Nils Dávila says the campaigns aim to change how people think about obesity and expand the market, rather than sell drugs immediately.
Spanish regulations prohibit advertising prescription medicines directly to the public.
The article says obesity has multiple causes and argues that weight-loss drugs alone will not address the broader problem.
- Who
- Pharmaceutical companies promote weight-loss drugs through obesity campaigns.
- What
- The campaigns use abstract messages without naming the medicines and link to websites listing doctors.
- When
- El País published the article on 8 November 2026.
- Where
- The article focuses on Spain and also compares the situation with the United States.
- Why
- The campaigns aim to change public attitudes about obesity and encourage more people to consider medical treatment.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Kellogg’s launched a campaign saying breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Lantern estimated that about 500,000 people in Spain used Ozempic and similar drugs, equal to 1.2% of the adult population.
El País published its report on obesity campaigns promoting weight-loss drugs without naming them.
- Spain
- Advertising prescription medicines is prohibited.
- Spain, late 2025
- About 500,000 users of Ozempic and similar drugs, or 1.2% of the adult population, according to Lantern.
- United States
- One in eight adults is receiving treatment with weight-loss drugs.
- United States
- 37% of the population is obese.
- Spain
- Just over 15% of the population is obese.
- Nils Dávila
- Says the campaigns seek to expand the market by drawing people who had stopped seeking solutions back into the market.
What people are saying
They are not trying to sell the product directly; they are trying to change the narrative
It is a multifactorial condition