Danish economy grows, due to US obesity problem

Denmark manages to record a good growth performance, different from that achieved by both Germany and Sweden, and this … thanks to a weight-loss medicine.

The Danish economy expanded by 2 percent quarter-on-quarter in the last quarter of 2023 as GDP, after a revised 0.4 percent growth in Q3, according to a preliminary estimate.

This was the second consecutive quarter of expansion and the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2021, led by the pharmaceutical industry as pharmaceutical companies, particularly Novo Nordisk, continue to expand production capacity. On the spending front, household consumption increased 1.7 percent (up from 0.2 percent in the third quarter), particularly vehicle purchases (21.4 percent), while government spending picked up (0.3 percent vs. -0.4 percent).

In addition, exports surged by 5.7 percent (vs. 4.9 percent), while imports increased more slowly by 1.1 percent (vs. 6.8 percent). In contrast, investment shrank by 6.3 percent (vs. +3.3 percent), with investment in machinery, transportation equipment (-12.4 percent) and intellectual rights (-12.9 percent) experiencing the largest decline, after a relatively high level of investment in transportation in the third quarter.

On a year-on-year basis, GDP increased by 3.1 percent. For the full year 2023, the economy grew by 1.8 percent, mainly due to an increase in the pharmaceutical industry, which surged by more than 50 percent. Here is the relaitvo graph

The Danish company Novo Nordisk has launched Ozempic -Wegovy anti-obesity medicines that have been an incredible hit in the U.S., with supermarkets even reporting a drop from 6% to 9% in the sale of snacks and unhealthy foods in the U.S.: just to give you an idea of the great worldwide impact of these medicines

Again to confirm how much of an effect a change in uses can have Bank of America expects that a real “Closet Renewal Cycle” will now begin, with an increase in clothing sales, because a large number of medically slim people will now want to buy new clothes to highlight their new status.

It still remains that Americans in the 1960s, without Ozempyc and without gyms, were much thinner than those of today. However, now, at least, the Danes enjoy it.