COVID may be winding down, but the damage is done in deaths and long COVID. We don’t understand much, but we do know that there is a correlation between COVID severity and obesity/diabetes. The question thus becomes, “will the medical community finally address the obesity epidemic, or will we continue to do nothing essentially?”.

Obesity turned out to be a significant risk factor for covid hospitalization and death, especially non-elderly. According to the CDC, it is linked to impaired immune function and decreased lung capacity, making ventilation more difficult. Once again, obesity indicates that it’s killing us.

The statistics are alarming, especially for a country that spends so much on healthcare, but we continue to ignore patients who are obese.

What is pharma’s responsibility?

Pharma provides medications to treat everything from severe cardiac issues to depression but should America’s pharma companies go beyond just providing a treatment? Pfizer has made billions of dollars from their COVID vaccine but shouldn’t they have a responsibility to warn people that obesity is a leading cause of severe COVID?

OK. Treating obesity is not as easy as telling people to exercise more and eat less high-fat foods, but we can’t continue the current status quo. What about insurers? Should they have a responsibility to health patients to try and reduce the excess healthcare costs of obese patients?

There is a slow transition happening in corporate America; social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility is the concept that a business is responsible for doing good. CSR means that a company should self-regulate its actions and be socially accountable to its customers, stakeholders, and the world. Pha a fails in this. They believe developing new medications is enough while rake in billions for shareholders.

Socially responsible companies use their position and resources for something more than pleasing their shareholders and increasing their bottom line. They operate on a business model that focuses on social change, sharing its success with local and global communities.

CSR extends beyond just developing medications. It me s sharing drugs with countries that can’t afford them, but it also means educating people on the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle. It’s t damn easy to get an Rx for a statin rather than changing your diet.

People accuse pharma of keeping people sick to make money. That’s a rumor. The industry provides medications so people can live everyday lives even with severe medical conditions. Still, along with that, pharma companies should be working with other key healthcare companies to try new interventions that educate people that obesity kills. It’s l g overdue.