"Miracle obesity treatment" released in Korea... "It's not for dieting."

[Anchor]
Obesity treatments, which have gained popularity through overseas celebrities and social media, will also be released in Korea this month.

Health authorities warned that prescriptions and medications should be careful, saying it is not for diet purposes, but literally for treating obesity diseases.

This is reporter Lee Moon-seok.

[Reporter]
"Wigobi," an obesity treatment known through word of mouth by foreign celebrities such as Elon Musk.

It was also approved last year in Korea and will be released within this month.

This obesity treatment is an injection of Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a hormone that promotes insulin secretion and suppresses appetite.

As a result of injecting once a week in clinical trials, 15% weight loss effect was reported in a year.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has warned of misuse ahead of its domestic launch.

It is not a diet drug, but a specialized drug for obesity treatment, so strict prescriptions and careful administration are required.

In fact, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation were commonly observed even when used within the approval range in clinical trials, and cholelithiasis, hair loss, and acute pancreatitis were reported.

So there are restrictions on the subject of prescription.

Only adult obese patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 30kg/m2 or higher, and adult obese patients with one or more weight-related comorbidities such as hypertension with a body mass index of more than 27kg/m2 can be prescribed.

[Ahn Kwang-soo / Director of Biopharmaceutical Quality Management Division, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety: This drug is not a diet drug. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully administer it through expert prescriptions only for patients with high obesity.]

He also emphasized that drugs cannot be sold unless they are pharmacies, and urged them not to sell or purchase drugs online illegally.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will also continue to monitor abnormal cases related to obesity treatments and check whether there is any hype by medical institutions.

I'm YTN's Lee Munseok.

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