[Reporter's view] Signs of concern about the Saxenda craze

Five years ago, there was a Saxenda craze in Korea.

 

People rushed to the clinics because they could easily lose weight with self-injection once a day at home, and there were no central nervous system side effects, unlike existing obesity drugs, which are psychotropic drugs.

 

The saying, 'There is no one in Gangnam who does not take Saxenda' was circulating like a trend.

 

Health authorities also launched an intensive crackdown on the indiscriminate use of Saxenda, but the effectiveness was temporary.

 

Saxenda posted record sales of 42.6 billion won in the second year of domestic launch.

 

As of 2023, the diet pill craze is showing signs of spreading once again.

 

This is when the next-generation version of Saxenda appears.

 

Novo Nordisk, which created Saxenda, introduced an injection that is more convenient and more effective for weight loss than Saxenda.

 

Unlike Saxenda, which needs to be injected once daily, the new Wegovy only needs to be injected once a week.

 

Patients participating in the trial lost an average of 15% of their body weight.

 

Following the news that Lilly's 'Mounjaro', which is said to have the most powerful weight loss effect, was soon approved in Korea, people's expectations have risen to the peak.

 

In the United States, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the influencer Kardashian sisters revealed that they succeeded in dieting with these injections, causing a 'shortage phenomenon'.

 

It is currently impossible to obtain these injections in Korea.

 

Wegovy has been approved in Korea, but the domestic release date is undecided due to a lack of supply worldwide.

 

There is a high possibility that it will be difficult to release within the year.

 

As the situation is like this, some people are turning their eyes to overseas direct purchases.

 

It is also illegally purchasing diabetes medications made with the same ingredients as oral medications, not Wegovy.

 

In fact, this drug is for diabetes treatment, and the dose is one-third, so the purchase is pointless, but illegal purchases are not going away.

 

Because news praising the effectiveness of a new anti-obesity treatment is pouring in every day, the targets for which this drug can be used or its side effects are often not mentioned or forgotten.

 

The focus is on just how much weight you lose.

 

First, in the United States, where the craze took place, purchasing and taking Wegovy raw materials at random has emerged as a social problem.

 

Korea, where Wegovy will be released in the future, will not be an exception.

 

In order to receive a prescription for injections, it may be common to run 'open runs' in hospitals or engage in illegal transactions by paying a higher price.

 

There is a high risk that exaggerated advertisements using people's desire to buy will also pour out.

 

These are examples that have already appeared in the Saxenda craze.

 

Preemptive efforts are needed to prevent indiscriminate abuse of obesity drugs.

 

When this drug can be used and when it should not be used, side effect information should be clearly communicated and safe usage instructions should be provided.

 

It is also necessary to pay close attention to the overuse of exaggerated advertisements by some hospitals.

 

There is something we should also remember.

 

A new drug that claims to have lost more than 10 kg, it is difficult to expect such an effect if the participating patients are all overweight and obese and their body mass index (BMI) is less than 30 kg/m2.

 

At the time of the clinical trial, the patients controlled their diet and exercised together.

 

In the end, medicine is the only medicine, and in the end, if you do not continue to control your diet and exercise appropriately, weight loss is only temporary.

 

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