At a recent health forum titled "Healthy Weight, Collective Action—2026 Weight Management Year: Urban Roundtable," organized under the guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission and Shanghai United Media Group, it was revealed that 16 national departments jointly launched the "Weight Management Year" initiative in 2024. In 2025 alone, 238 smart health stations in Shanghai expanded their weight management services, developing online platforms for residents, doctors, and administrators. These stations provided free, standardized screening and assessment services, completing initial Body Mass Index (BMI) screenings and risk assessments for 222,000 individuals. The data was then forwarded to family doctors for follow-up weight management support.
The shift from national calls for weight loss to proactive public weight management reflects broader changes in lifestyle habits across countless households over the past three years. As a megacity, Shanghai has consistently prioritized health education as a key component of its "Healthy Shanghai" initiative. Lu Taohong, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, emphasized efforts to integrate weight management services into community health centers, support community-based health self-management groups, and encourage media and online platforms to disseminate scientific knowledge in accessible ways.
Gao Jingrong, Director of the Shanghai Health Promotion Center, outlined the city's progress in weight management policies and public education. Shanghai has adopted a dual-driven approach, combining policy frameworks with grassroots services, to advance education, environmental improvements, and smart interventions covering all demographics and life stages. Environmental initiatives include implementing the first provincial-level "Shanghai Patriotic Health and Health Promotion Regulation," launching pilot programs for nutritional guidance, introducing beverage "nutritional grading" labels, refining the school health principal system, and innovating health reward point mechanisms—currently being piloted in Qingpu, Yangpu, and Huangpu districts before citywide expansion.
Shanghai has also established an expert database spanning seven key areas and developed a life-cycle weight management toolkit featuring six modules: assessment and monitoring, diet, exercise, psychological health, healthy living foundations, and traditional Chinese medicine. These resources have been distributed to 48 core venues across 16 districts, supported by a three-tier talent development structure comprising experts, lead instructors, and community guides.
At the grassroots level, weight management has been incorporated into district-specific family doctor services, integrating smart wearable devices, AI technology, and reward platforms across seven pilot districts. Interim evaluations in Pudong and Yangpu showed that 60% of participants achieved reduced BMI within six months, with over 95% satisfaction rates.
Jean-Christophe Pointeau, Pfizer's Global Senior Vice President and China President, participated in the forum, noting that obesity remains a growing public health challenge in China, with significant unmet needs for effective, sustainable weight management solutions. In March 2026, Pfizer China announced that the National Medical Products Administration had approved a new cAMP-biased GLP-1 receptor agonist injection for long-term weight management in overweight or obese adults, alongside diet and exercise. The drug's innovative mechanism stems from Nobel Prize-winning research on G-protein coupled receptors.
Dr. Pan Hai, Founder and CEO of Sciwind Biosciences, explained that the company, established in August 2017, spent eight and a half years developing the drug from early research to approval, generating clinical evidence across Phases I–III and publishing five high-impact papers. Sciwind entered a strategic partnership with Pfizer China in February 2026, leveraging Pfizer's commercial strength and global reach to support national weight management strategies and benefit patients with obesity and metabolic disorders.
The drug is part of China's National Major New Drug Innovation Program, a key state-supported initiative. The SLIMMER trial, China's largest Phase III weight loss study, published results in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology in June 2025 and was presented at the 85th American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions. Professor Ji Linong, Principal Investigator and Director of Endocrinology at Peking University People's Hospital, highlighted that the 2.4 mg dose group achieved an average 15.4% weight reduction over 48 weeks, with 92.8% of participants losing at least 5% of their body weight, underscoring both the drug's efficacy and the scientific significance of biased signaling theory.
During a roundtable discussion, prominent blogger "FU Daye" shared his weight loss journey, recalling a time when he weighed 115 kg. Through disciplined daily exercise and lifestyle changes, he achieved rapid weight loss and has avoided sugary and fried foods for over a decade. He expressed hope that advances in biomedical technology would offer new, scientific weight management options for those struggling with obesity.
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