Super Bowl Ads Highlight Health and Longevity Trends

Experts weigh in on the hits and misses of this year's health-focused commercials

Published on Feb. 9, 2026

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This year's Super Bowl featured a number of ads focused on health and longevity, including commercials for GLP-1 medications, telehealth services, and cancer screening tests. Experts analyzed these ads, highlighting what they got right and wrong about health and wellness.

Why it matters

The prevalence of health-focused ads at the Super Bowl reflects the growing cultural interest in longevity and preventative care. However, some of the claims made in these commercials raise concerns about accessibility, side effects, and the limitations of certain medical technologies.

The details

The ads included a commercial featuring former boxer Mike Tyson advocating for 'real food' over processed foods, as well as multiple ads for GLP-1 medications from companies like Ro, Novo Nordisk, and Hims & Hers. There was also an ad from Boehringer Ingelheim promoting the uACR test to screen for kidney and heart disease risks, and a Novartis ad about prostate cancer screening. Experts had mixed reactions, with some praising the efforts to raise awareness but also noting issues like fat-shaming, lack of nuance around medication side effects, and concerns over the accuracy of certain screening tests.

  • The Super Bowl aired on February 9, 2026.

The players

Mike Tyson

Former professional boxer who starred in an ad advocating for eating 'real food' over processed foods.

Serena Williams

Tennis star who appeared in an ad for telehealth company Ro discussing her experience taking a GLP-1 medication and its effects on her health.

DJ Khaled

Musician who partnered with Novo Nordisk to advertise the Wegovy GLP-1 pill.

Kenan Thompson

SNL comedian who also appeared in the Novo Nordisk GLP-1 ad.

Common

Rapper and actor who narrated the Hims & Hers longevity ad.

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What they’re saying

“I think the Tyson ad is great, making people aware of the problems of too much processed foods.”

— Mir Ali, MD, Bariatric medicine specialist, bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center (Men's Health)

“As usual, completely ignoring the social determinants of health and all of the negative changes that the government has made since they took power, like cutting SNAP benefits.”

— Abby Langer, RD, Nutrition advisor, Men's Health (Men's Health)

“The issue is that such medications need to be taken for long periods of time and lead to loss of muscle mass if one is not staying active. Their side effect profile is significant and many people stop taking GLP-1s due to intolerance.”

— Robert Glatter, MD, Assistant professor of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital and Men's Health advisor (Men's Health)

“The Galleri blood test has modest overall sensitivity or screening ability of 51 to 66 percent for cancer detection, with its performance highly dependent on cancer stage. The test's low sensitivity (screening ability) for early-stage disease means it will miss many cancers, particularly those most amenable to curative treatment.”

— Robert Glatter, MD, Assistant professor of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital and Men's Health advisor (Men's Health)

“Targeting two of the most common diseases in the population, type 2 diabetes and hypertension and helping people understand that too much albumin in the urine may portend kidney and cardiovascular complications is certainly appropriate. Choosing the Super Bowl and very well-known actors will reach a large number of affected individuals, so this will be potentially of significant benefit.”

— Brad Rovin, MD, Chief of nephrology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (Men's Health)

What’s next

Experts suggest that future health-focused ads should focus more on addressing systemic barriers to health and wellness, rather than just promoting specific products or services.

The takeaway

The prevalence of health-focused ads at the Super Bowl reflects growing cultural interest in longevity and preventative care, but some of the claims made raise concerns about accessibility, side effects, and the limitations of certain medical technologies. Moving forward, experts say the messaging needs to be more nuanced and address the underlying social determinants of health.