As obesity drugs gain popularity alongside a dieting boom in South Korea, concerns are mounting over misuse and overuse. Against that backdrop, a doctor has advised that concerns about weight and concerns about body shape should be treated as separate issues, pointing to people at a normal weight who seek the drugs to lose more.
Cho Jae-hyung, a surgeon at Line Culture Clinic, said recently that many people who feel they need to lose more weight despite being at a normal weight are actually troubled by specific areas such as their upper arms, lower abdomen or thighs, according to medical sources on the 20th. "In these cases, it is less a matter of weight than a matter of how fat is distributed," he said.
"Even if you lose weight, fat does not come off only in the areas you want," Cho said. "When people at a normal weight lose even more, fat may come off other areas first, producing results that differ from what they expected."
He expressed concern about prescription obesity treatments being used for dieting among people who are already at a normal weight. He said this concern reflects why the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has designated GLP-1 obesity drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro as medicines at risk of misuse and overuse.
"It is natural for body shapes to differ from person to person, and having fat in a noticeable area does not mean it all needs correcting," Cho said. "A certain amount of fat also plays a role in creating the body's curves and natural lines."
"What matters in addressing body shape is not how much you take off, but deciding what to remove and what to keep," he added. "Looking closely at your own body, rather than at the number on the scale, is the first step toward reducing unnecessary treatment."
