Ozempic and Mounjaro are becoming increasingly popular prescription drugs among Fijians who are overweight or obese.
Fiji Pharmaceutical Society representative Sristica Nair told the General Practitioners Annual Conference yesterday the drugs were initially approved for the management of diabetes mellitus, but are gaining wider attention because of their impact on weight loss.
She said the growing interest in the drugs came at a time when Fiji continued to face high levels of obesity and overweight cases.
“Currently we are facing an obesity epidemic, not just here, but across the world,” Ms Nair said.
“Nearly 40 per cent of Fiji’s population was obese, while 29.2 per cent were overweight.”
Ms Nair said the figures showed women were more affected, with about 48.3 per cent of women classified as obese and 28 per cent overweight.
She said while Body Mass Index was not a perfect measure of whether a person was overweight, it remained a useful guide in assessing possible health outcomes linked to excess body fat.
Ms Nair said some patients were already requesting the medication from pharmacies.
Patients using the drugs had reported a significant reduction in appetite after taking the injection.
“What they report is, if they have injected the drug, say today, for the next two days, they will not feel hungry at all.
“They do not have any appetite for at least two days.
“From the third day, then their appetite returns.”
Ms Nair said side effects appeared to be rare among the patients she had seen, adding that four patients currently using the drugs from her pharmacy had not reported any major side effects.
However, she said the medication was expected to become even more popular as more people sought medical support for weight loss.
