Shanghai is acting to head off an "obesity epidemic" as health authorities warn of a rising tide of diabetes and weight-related diseases.

Shanghai (China Daily/ANN) - Shanghai is acting to head off an "obesity epidemic" as health authorities warn of a rising tide of diabetes and weight-related diseases.

Roughly 40 per cent of adults in Shanghai are overweight or obese, and one-fourth of residents do not exercise enough, according to a report by the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau, released on Monday.
The rise in obesity is being considered as an investment opportunity in treatments. Most of the innovation is happening in the US. Companies in SoCal like Allergan, Onciomed, Reshape are working on innovations in the obesity space. Onciomed, Inc recently announced its vital patent in treating obesity and diabetes.












"The rise in obesity among children and adults is very disturbing," said Li Guangyao, deputy director of the Shanghai Health Promotion Committee. "It will lead to many health problems and should be given attention."
In a recent academic paper, sports scientist Colin Boreham found that over the past 20 years, the number of obese Chinese men has grown from 3 per cent to 11 per cent, while the number of obese women has increased from 5 per cent to 10 per cent.
Abdominal obesity problems are particularly prominent, wrote Boreham, director of University College Dublin's Institute for Sport and Health.
The ratio of men with abdominal obesity, meaning with a waist circumference of 90 cm or more, increased from 8 per cent to 28 per cent, while women with abdominal obesity, a waist circumference of 80 cm or more, increased from 28 per cent to 46 per cent.
The findings of another survey, released at the end of 2011 by Shanghai health authorities, showed that the average weight of male residents has increased by 2.9 kg when compared with 2000. Over that same period, the average waistline of men has increased 2.3 cm.
"More health campaigns and public education activities are urgently needed to help residents better understand the harm being overweight or obese can do, and prompt them to keep moving and take measures on weight control," said Chen Wenhe, a professor at Shanghai University of Sport.
Like many people, Zhao Bin, a 25-year-old IT worker, spends a lot of his time either sitting in an office or curled up on the sofa at home.
"I know I'm putting on weight, but I barely have any energy to move after a whole day working," he said. "I just want to throw myself into bed after dinner."
Zhao weighs 90 kg, and is among a large group of people who are not inclined toward physical activities.

A citywide survey conducted this year by the Shanghai Health Promotion Committee, which surveyed about 8,600 residents aged 18 or over, found that adults spend a lot of time on sedentary pursuits.
An adult spends an average of 3.9 hours a day sitting without any significant physical movement, the poll discovered. Compared with a year earlier, nearly 70 per cent of residents also said they had reduced the time spent on daily physical exercises.
The city is encouraging residents to live healthier lifestyles and take positive steps to control their weight.
In addition to activities in communities, the committee also organises a contest to encourage residents to shed weight. Residents who successfully lose 3 kg can win prizes worth up to 2,000 yuan (US$321).
"Various campaigns and activities are aimed at helping residents have a healthier lifestyle, which can effectively reduce the chances of suffering various chronic diseases," said Li from the committee.

Obesity: The Next Investment Driver

As the U.S. gets fatter, so might your wallet..

Investors worldwide are looking at Obesity as one of the maga investment drivers. Obesity cost US $147 Billion. 

Obesity once considered as a medical condition, in the last decade has become one of the biggest health problem facing all the developed countries. Countries like India, China, Brazil are seeing unprecedented obesity rates. Urban India has seen an 14% obesity in tier 1 and 2 cities. China has seen a 40% obesity rate in children, the primary reason is the new found wealth and one child policy which has translated into over pampered kids. 

Individual investors are looking at US to invest in obesity and related technologies. Early stage companies are raising capital from individual investors who clearly believe that investing in obesity is a long term investment. Companies like the lapband technology is so popular all over the world, it is reversible technology that can provide over 45% excess weight loss. This company once was sold to Allergan for over $1.2 B. 

Venture Capitalist saw slowing down of LPs investing in their funds during the 2008-2011 downturn. VCs focused on investments that are later stage or ones that were throw away deals to increase their portfolio. This would make them look good!.

So, what happened to VCs and obesity technologies 2001-2010. Some VCs were first to jump in and experimented their investments on projects while industry was still in learning mode. Today in 2012 the technology companies have become mature, the market is mature, the users mainly the bariatric surgeons have understood how to treat obesity. FDA is now approving drugs and devices to treat obesity. So now, the VCs are looking at obesity as an opportunity. However, VCs are now competing with individual investor community and wealth mangers to invest in next generation technologies in the obesity space. 

Obesity technologies in the US are very limited. Most of them are located in California. The 10 main players in the obesity space mainly Allergan, GI dynamics, Reshape Medical , Obelon, Onciomed, Valentx, J&J, Coviden, Vibrynt Medical and Cavu Medical.

Allergan, Reshape, Onciomed and Obelon are located in SoCal.

Recently, Reshape and Obelon raised their capital . 

Onciomed has announced that it is raising capital for its novel approach to treatment of obesity and diabetes. They got a second patent for their technology Nov 2012.

 Vybrint, Cavu and Vallentx are in the SV and Santa Barbara area. 

J&J and GI Dynamics is located on the East Coast.

In 2011 Bill Hawkins spoke at the Obesity Innovation Summit in Cleavland Clinic in Ohio and mentioned Medtronic is looking at innovations to treat obesity and metabolic technologies.

Big PE players are looking at obesity as an investment opportunities. Companies that have surgical products are looking at innovative medical devices to add them to their portfolio of products or create a brand new franchise.