Will the new anti-obesity drugs that replicate actions of intestinal hormones, such as glucagon like peptide (GLP) and gastric inhibitory peptide (GIP), help in reducing body fat while providing cardio-metabolic benefits (like reduced risk of heart attacks, strokes and uncontrolled diabetes)? Should doctors prescribing these drugs, and patients using them, be aware of the many possible adverse effects of these drugs? Is there adequate recognition of a rebound in obesity and fadeout of health benefits that many persons experience when they discontinue these drugs? Should the right to prescribe these drugs be initially restricted to doctors specialising in endocrinology?

At present, the answer to all of these questions is “yes”. Over time, as Indian experience on the benefits and safety of these therapies accumulates, other physicians, too, may be permitted to prescribe. While semaglutide was included in the WHO’s list of essential drugs in 2025 for treatment of obesity and diabetes, prescriptions by doctors or dieticians who are not well versed with the effects of these drugs will pose dangers of misuse. Hence, recent prescribing restrictions imposed by the Director General of Health Services are justified.

Generic drugs transformed access to essential medicines that were unaffordable for people suffering from serious........

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