SUVA (Fiji Times/Pacnews) — 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 that the drugs were initially approved for the management of diabetes mellitus but are now gaining wider attention for their effects on weight loss.
She said the growing interest in the drugs comes as Fiji continues to face high levels of obesity and overweight cases.
“Currently we are facing an obesity epidemic, not just here, but across the world,” Nair said.
“Nearly 40% of Fiji’s population is obese, and 29.2% are overweight.”
Nair added that the figures show women are more affected, with about 48.3% classified as obese and 28% overweight.
She said while body mass index or BMI is not a perfect measure of whether a person is overweight, it remains a useful guide in assessing possible health outcomes linked to excess body fat.
Nair said some patients are already requesting the medication from pharmacies, with users reporting 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.”
She said side effects appear to be rare among the patients she has seen, adding that four patients currently using the drugs from her pharmacy have not reported any major side effects.
She added that the medication is expected to become even more popular as more people seek medical support for weight loss.
