DENMARK - Obesity Medication Booming
Look back only two years ago and the name of Danish firm Novo Nordisk would hardly ring a bell. But now, soaring sales of two blockbuster drugs, the anti-obesity and diabetes treatments Wegovy and Ozempic, have turned this pharmaceutical giant into one of Europe’s most valuable companies.
It has also given Denmark’s economy a huge boost, making it one of the region’s fastest-growing. From new job creation to lower mortgage rates, the ripple effects of skyrocketing drug demand have been felt across the country, and not least in the tiny port town of Kalundborg, a community of fewer than 17,000 residents, where one of the biggest investments in Danish history is now underway.
“We are the center of where the medicine starts, the core substance,” Kalundborg’s mayor Martin Damm told me, as we toured the plant’s perimeter, a vast site covering 1.6 million square meters, equivalent to the size of 224 football pitches.
For a century Novo Nordisk’s business was built on making insulin, but the discovery of semaglutide’s weight-loss effect, marked a turning point. “It is really transforming into a new firm,” says Kurt Jacobsen, a professor at Copenhagen Business School, who’s authored a book on the company.
For a company with its headquarters in a small nation with less than six million people, Novo Nordisk’s rise has had an outsized impact. “There are other companies that also play a big role in the economy, Maersk especially, but nothing on this scale,” says Las Olsen, chief economist at Danske Bank. “This is the largest ever.”
-www.bbc.com, 20 February 2025
Arno's Commentary
While the need to lose weight is a modern phenomenon, we have records that show it’s actually ages old:
Back in the days of the Greek physician Hippocrates (460–377 BCE), practitioners recommended various plants, berries, and natural remedies for weight loss. These treatments were intended to produce nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Weight loss treatments have come a long way since then.
According to Craig Primack, MD, FACP, FAAP, MFOMA, a physician specializing in obesity medicine and senior vice president of weight loss at Hims & Hers, it wasn’t until 1959, when the FDA approved phentermine, that weight loss treatments began to turn a corner.
“That was really the beginning of the modern-day medical treatments for obesity,” says Dr. Primack.
-www.forhers.com, 3 May 2024
This writer remembers when meeting someone after an extended period of time, making the compliment, “You have gained weight!” That, however, is not recommended anymore—it’s considered an insult.
Why is weight gain common? There are hundreds, if not thousands of reasons, but one thing is undeniable, particularly in the Western world: the abundance of food and delicacies. Here we are reminded of Ezekiel 16, where we read the words: “Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness” (verse 49a).
About the time of the Great Tribulation, it states, “And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning” (Revelation 18:9). Furthermore, we realize that hard, physical labor is virtually non-existent today, except for a few industries such as construction, mining, fishing, logging, etc. Doubtless, plentiful food is a major contributing factor to obesity. What is the answer for Christians? One word: discipline!
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
