Equity in obesity care: ZS’s approach to health access and patient-centered solutions

Obesity is one of the most prominent public health concerns facing the world today. According to the World Health Organization, in fewer than 35 years, obesity has more than doubled among adults and quadrupled among children and adolescents aged 5-19. Unless evidence-based action is taken, current projections suggest these trends will continue, and at present, no country is on track to reach the World Health Organization’s target to stop the rise of obesity prevalence by 2030.
 

Tackling this challenge requires addressing glaring disparities, as communities with the highest obesity rates often face broader equity issues linked to socioeconomic and environmental conditions often out of a person’s control. In fact, most noncommunicable disease deaths in general occur among people in lower-resource settings.
 

With deep expertise in market research and a patient health and equity team dedicated to advancing global health equity, ZS is working to identify and address the complex factors behind these disparities. Anya Gurdon-Raskin, a strategy and insights planning manager at ZS, applies her passion for qualitative research to uncover how demographics, perceptions and health equity gaps shape care. This allows ZS to close gaps related to treatment for obesity and other diseases and to foster better, more equitable health outcomes for all.

“We know that obesity increases the risk of a range of diseases and conditions, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and kidney disease,” says Anya. “Helping patients improve their health related to these diseases is among the most critical advances we can make in health systems, as critical as investment in vaccines.”

Since social drivers of health—from economic resources to the neighborhoods we inhabit—heavily influence susceptibility to illness and access to treatment, ZS research incorporates a health equity lens on obesity. Understanding what prevents healthy choices creates space for conversations that lead to people getting and staying well. With that in mind, Anya uses her extensive expertise in consumer market research to study drivers of physician and patient decisions.
 

“How do primary care physicians understand different disease areas and think about treating them?” she asks. “Because more patients are engaged in decision-making, our studies also look at specific drivers of patient choices across the landscape of cardiovascular, renal, liver and other diseases. Our goal is to learn from patients and doctors.”
 

Anya also emphasizes the need to integrate patient diversity in ZS studies, to consider how factors like socioeconomic background, ethnicity and gender affect patients’ access to weight loss treatment.
 

“If you live in a safe, walkable town, can afford healthy food and have the time to cook it, your risk of being overweight is lower than someone who doesn’t have easy access to the same healthy habits,” says Anya.
 

To effectively recommend a healthy diet, doctors and healthcare providers must first understand the unique circumstances their patients face, including whether they live in a food desert or are exposed to higher-than-average levels of pollution. Meeting people where they are is crucial, as it’s not enough to simply advise someone to eat more fruits and vegetables if those options are unavailable or unaffordable.
 

Equally important is recognizing how language and cultural concepts shape a person’s approach to health and nutrition. Providers must communicate in a way that resonates with each patient’s reality, tailoring advice to be practical, accessible and aligned with their lived experience. This holistic approach fosters better health outcomes by ensuring recommendations are both actionable and empathetic to individual challenges.
 

“Immediately talking about weight can disconnect some people from the conversation,” she explains, noting ZS-led research that revealed a higher use of weight loss products by women than men, even with the same rate of obesity. “We found that men don’t like terms like ‘weight loss’ and tend to wait until their BMI is well above the obesity range, whereas women want to lose weight so they can be helpful and present with their families.”

This diverse perspective prompted a sampling strategy that considered more than the demographic distribution of patients with obesity. “We meet people where they are at and make sure to use their terminology” says Anya.
 

At the end of the day, successfully addressing obesity means addressing the core of the crisis: the struggle for access. “The disease is caused by genetics and environment, including socio-political influences that affect our range of choices and lived experiences. Access to treatment is also very limited. The American government, for example, does not permit coverage for drugs aimed solely at weight loss by Medicare, the U.S. Federal health insurance program,” says Anya.
 

Confident in ZS’s analytics capability to deliver impact, Anya remains optimistic. “We are diversifying market research to foster a holistic patient-centered approach, partner with organizations on patient support programs and strengthen supply chain logistics,” she says.
 

With more than 730 patient health and equity projects delivered in 2023 alone and approximately 23 million potential lives impacted by our work so far, ZS is making measurable progress in delivering healthy, fair and sustainable outcomes for all.
 

Learn more about how you can join ZS in creating a more equitable, accessible and patient-centered approach to healthcare.

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