Why everyone’s going gaga over weight-loss drugs

To shed pounds fast, Indians are going to great lengths to secure weight-loss drugs from abroad. Soon, they may not have to look elsewhere as US drugmaker Eli Lilly gets early approvals in India for its new weight-loss drug.

“The minute you join a gym or start a diet, everyone assumes you are trying to get thin, even trainers. It’s not even funny how obsessed we are, as a country, with losing weight,” says Sunidhi, a 24-year-old wellness coach from Kolkata. 

Sunidhi’s observations, in fact, reflect a grave reality about India. The country ranked third, after the US and China, in adult obesity in 2022, according to a study in The Lancet. And to lose weight fast, Indians are going to great lengths to secure weight-loss drugs from abroad that are not yet available in pharmacies here. Soon, they …

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Diti Pujara

Diti is a copy editor at The Morning Context. She joins us from Deccan Herald where she oversaw the daily news coverage in the digital vertical as a chief sub-editor. She also managed social media and contributed to data stories and film analysis. Before DH, she was with Reuters as an online producer.

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diti@mailtmc.com