OREANDA-NEWS The Russian economy is losing billions of rubles due to the obesity of citizens. This is how State Duma deputy Irina Filatova assessed the losses, her words are quoted by NSN.

According to estimates by the Ministry of Health and relevant analysts, due to the growing number of people who are unable to work due to obesity, the country may lose four percent of GDP. This amount includes the costs of the treatment itself, as well as losses due to reduced life expectancy and early disability. For the first half of 2025, four percent is about 3.8 trillion rubles.

"The retirement of the working-age population always affects the competitiveness of the economy. According to internal estimates, losses from disability of the obese population, that is, with a body mass index of more than 30, may amount to about 400 billion rubles, which is equivalent to 0.5 percent of GDP. These are catastrophic figures for the country's economy," Filatova said.

According to the DSM Group, in the first half of 2025, pharmacy sales of ozempik and its analogues in Russia soared four times compared to last year. Sales of the diabetes drug, which was used for weight loss, increased to 12.5 billion rubles in monetary terms. In physical terms, sales increased 4.5–4.6 times to 2.2 million packages.