A new way of thinking about metabolic health

The McKinsey Podcast explores metabolic health and obesity as pressing global issues, highlighting the potential for a "metabolic health revolution." McKinsey partner Lars Hartenstein discusses two paths: a treatment-focused approach using new drug classes like GLP-1s and a more ambitious prevention-focused path requiring societal changes. Hartenstein outlines five shifts needed for the second path: advancing science, improving measurement, using technology for personalization, aligning incentives, and driving societal change. Examples of initiatives promoting metabolic health include Singapore's step challenge, the Yuka app for scanning food barcodes, and Swiss Re's thought leadership on insulin resistance, illustrating the diverse approaches needed to address metabolic health on a broad scale.