New Delhi, Dec 8 (UNI) Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Monday cautioned against the widespread and “fashionable” use of Glucagon-Like Peptide (GLP)-based rapid weight-loss drugs, urging judicious use and warning that their long-term effects often become apparent only over time.
He was speaking at a panel discussion titled ‘Clinician-Scientist Interaction on Obesity’ during the India International Science Festival (IISF) in Panchkula.
Drawing parallels with past public health misjudgements, Singh cited the unregulated shift to refined cooking oils in the 1970s and 1980s, which later revealed adverse health consequences. “True clinical inference may come from observing outcomes over decades,” he said.
The minister also referred to emerging concerns such as sarcopenia and the so-called “Ozempic face” associated with rapid or drug-induced weight loss, stressing that the full spectrum of physiological impact of such interventions is not yet fully understood.
Singh noted that obesity has emerged as a serious public health challenge in India and should not be seen as a cosmetic concern, as it was historically perceived. He said addressing the issue requires scientific rigour and policy discipline, given gaps in current interventions.
Highlighting India’s unique phenotype, Singh pointed to the higher prevalence of central or visceral obesity among Indians. “For Indians, the waistline tells a more important story than the weighing scale,” he said, underscoring that visceral fat is an independent risk factor even when overall body weight appears normal.
Meanwhile, oral and injectable forms of weight loss drugs like Semaglutide entered the Indian markets as early as 2022, primarily as diabetes treatments, but are increasingly being prescribed off-label for obesity. Currently, these drugs are approved for use only under medical supervision and require a prescription, with no over-the-counter sales permitted.
Jitendra Singh urges caution against popular weight loss drugs
