[리빙톡] They say obesity is seriously overused in the diet craze.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) There is a lot of interest in the obesity treatment drug ‘Wegobi‘, which was recently released in Korea.

However, the number of cases where it is used for diet purposes rather than obesity treatment is increasing.

Is it okay for someone with a normal weight to use WeGobee to lose weight?

Wigobi is an injection originally made to treat diabetes.

However, during the development process, it was confirmed that this drug was effective in weight loss, and it was approved as an obesity treatment.

Several clinical trials have shown that using Wigobi for about 1 year and 4 months (68 weeks) can result in a loss of about 15% of the original body weight.

We Gobi contains an ingredient (semaglutide) similar to GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide), a hormone secreted when eating food.

Injecting gastric goby increases the amount of insulin secreted by the pancreas, lowering blood sugar levels and delaying the passage of food through the stomach to maintain a feeling of fullness.

It works by making you feel full even if you eat less, which reduces your appetite.

Wegobi is a prescription drug in the form of an injection that requires a doctor’s prescription.

Kim Jeong-ha, a professor at the Department of Family Medicine at Chung-Ang University Hospital, said, “Weiggobi can be prescribed if the body mass index (BMI), which is the weight (kg) divided by the square of the height (m), exceeds 30,” and “It is possible to prescribe high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and sleep.” “If you have apnea or a cardiovascular disease such as existing angina or myocardial infarction, you can use it if your BMI is 27 or higher,” he said.

However, the number of people prescribed Wigobi for diet purposes has increased significantly, which is becoming a problem.

Prescriptions are mainly made through non-face-to-face treatment that does not directly check the patient’s condition.

Ms. A (38 years old), a woman who was prescribed Wigobi through an online non-face-to-face medical treatment and prescription issuance platform, said, “During the non-face-to-face treatment, the doctor checked weight, BMI (body mass index), and whether or not you have used Wigobi, but there was no underlying disease. “I didn’t ask if it was there,” he said.

It is said that on online diet communities and SNS (social networking services), there is a list of hospitals that prescribe WEGOVI even if you are not obese.

Mr. A said, “When I go into the non-face-to-face medical treatment/prescription app, a list of hospitals where I can receive treatment appears,” and “I selected a place where I could make an appointment right away and was prescribed Wegobi.”

Even if there is suspicion that Wigobi is being prescribed for cosmetic purposes rather than obesity treatment, pharmacists cannot refuse to prescribe Wegobi, so pharmacies are selling Wegobi without any restrictions.

For this reason, concerns are growing about various side effects that may occur when people of normal weight use WeGobee.

Professor Kim Jeong-ha said, “This is the first time using Wigobi in Korea, so various adverse reactions may occur, and abdominal discomfort is the most common side effect.” He added, “If diabetic patients use Wigobi, there is a possibility that diabetic retinopathy may worsen. Therefore, you must undergo an eye examination before use,” he explained.

He continued, “People with high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, sleep apnea, and cardiovascular disease should consult with their doctor to determine whether they can use Wigobi. After being prescribed Wigobi, it is important to continue to monitor symptoms that appear after use.”

After Wegobi was launched in Korea, there was a shortage, and non-face-to-face prescriptions for existing obesity treatments with similar ingredients increased rapidly.

For this reason, there are voices calling for excluding obesity treatments from non-face-to-face treatment prescriptions and strengthening monitoring of non-face-to-face treatment and prescription platforms to prevent abuse.

Mr. A said, “I understand that many people who are underweight are prescribed and use Wegobi non-face-to-face to maintain a thin body,” and added, “It seems a bit dangerous as there are concerns about side effects.”

Professor Kim Jeong-ha said, “Because the individual desire to manage obesity is high, there are many cases of misuse of obesity pills other than WeGobi,” and added, “Regardless of whether or not WeGobi is used, lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise can be corrected as much as possible for weight management. “It is necessary to make long-term, consistent efforts to achieve this,” he advised.

Reporter Ryu Jae-gap, Intern Reporter Kim Soo-hyun, Creator Choi Min-young

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