In Karachi, more than a thousand physicians gathered to confront a truth that modern life has made easy to ignore: obesity is not a failure of character but a medical condition now touching one in four Pakistanis, linked to 229 diseases and capable of stealing more than a decade of life. The gathering marked a turning point not only in diagnosis but in remedy, as domestically manufactured medicines like semaglutide bring effective treatment within reach for the first time. What remains is the older, harder work — persuading people who do not see themselves as ill that they are, and reaching th
Obesity linked to 229 diseases, may cut life expectancy by 11 years: Pakistani experts
Obesity affects 25% of Pakistan's population including women and children, contributing to premature death, disability, and complications like heart disease and kidney failure.
More than 75 percent didn't recognize they needed help
Mark
So one in four Pakistanis has obesity. That's a staggering number. What's driving it so fast?
Mimi
Urbanization, mostly. Sedentary jobs, sugary drinks everywhere, processed foods that are cheap and convenient. The same pattern you see in every developing country that's industrializing rapidly.
Luke
But here's what I want to know—is that 25 percent figure from a national survey, or is it an estimate? The source doesn't say.
Mimi
Fair point. The source doesn't specify the methodology. We know it's what the doctors stated, but the underlying data isn't detailed.
Mark
And the 229 diseases—that's a striking number. How did they arrive at that?
Mimi
The source doesn't explain the methodology there either. Dr Raza cited it, but the actual research behind it isn't described.
Luke
Right. So we know obesity is linked to those conditions—the specific prevalence rates for hypertension and osteoarthritis are cited with numbers. But the total count of 229 feels like it could be anything from a systematic review to a rough aggregation.
Mimi
The clinical data they presented is solid though. Fifty-two percent of obese Pakistanis with knee osteoarthritis, fifty-one percent with hypertension—those are concrete figures.
Mark
What about the life expectancy claim? Five to eleven years shorter?
Luke
Again, the source attributes it to the doctors but doesn't cite the study or population it's based on. It's a range, which suggests uncertainty, but we don't know the confidence interval or the conditions under which that applies.
Mimi
The semaglutide data is better documented—the SELECT and FLOW studies are named, and the outcomes are specific. Twenty percent reduction in cardiovascular death, twenty-four percent in kidney complications.
Mark
So the medicine part of the story is more solid than the epidemiology part?
Luke
Much more. The clinical trials are real, published research. The obesity prevalence and disease burden figures are presented by credible doctors, but the underlying sources aren't transparent in this reporting.
Mimi
Which is worth noting, but doesn't undermine the core claim—obesity is a major health problem in Pakistan, and there are now affordable treatments available.
Il Polso
- One in four Pakistanis lives with obesity, yet more than three-quarters of those affected do not recognize themselves as overweight — a silence that allows the disease to advance unchallenged.
- The numbers behind the condition are staggering: over half of people with obesity develop high blood pressure or knee damage, and Pakistan already carries 34.5 million adults with diabetes, one of the highest burdens on earth.
- A new class of medicines, led by semaglutide, has demonstrated 15% body weight loss and a 20% reduction in cardiovascular death in clinical trials — and Pakistan is now manufacturing them domestically at accessible prices.
- Counterfeit versions of these drugs are already circulating in unregulated markets, and doctors warn that unsupervised or cosmetic use risks turning a medical breakthrough into a public health hazard.
- Experts are urging a supervised, whole-life approach — medicine paired with diet, exercise, and ongoing clinical care — insisting the tools now exist, and what is missing is the will to use them wisely and in time.
In Karachi, more than a thousand physicians gathered to confront a truth that modern life has made easy to ignore: obesity is not a failure of character but a medical condition now touching one in four Pakistanis, linked to 229 diseases and capable of stealing more than a decade of life. The gathering marked a turning point not only in diagnosis but in remedy, as domestically manufactured medicines like semaglutide bring effective treatment within reach for the first time. What remains is the older, harder work — persuading people who do not see themselves as ill that they are, and reaching them before the consequences do.
On a Sunday in late September, more than a thousand doctors gathered in Karachi to deliver a message that Pakistani society has been slow to absorb: obesity is a medical emergency, not a matter of appearance or willpower. Endocrinologist Dr Abbas Raza laid out the consequences in clinical terms — 52% of people with obesity develop knee osteoarthritis, 51% develop high blood pressure, 40% suffer sleep apnea, and 21% go on to experience heart attacks or diabetes. One in four Pakistanis now lives with the condition, including large numbers of women and children, and it can shorten a life by as many as eleven years.
The crisis is deepened by a widespread failure of self-recognition. More than 75% of Pakistanis carrying excess weight do not consider themselves overweight, meaning they neither change their habits nor seek care. By the time they do arrive at a clinic, complications have often already taken hold. The country's diabetes burden — 34.5 million adults, a prevalence rate of 31.4% — illustrates how far the disease has already traveled before it is addressed.
What the forum offered alongside the warning was reason for measured hope. Pakistan now manufactures semaglutide, a medicine that regulates appetite and blood sugar, at prices far below those in wealthier countries. Clinical evidence is substantial: patients lose nearly 15% of body weight, and high-risk individuals see a 20% reduction in cardiovascular events and a 24% reduction in serious kidney complications. Getz Pharma, which hosted the event, exports to 45 countries and has invested heavily in quality systems to ensure domestic production meets international standards — a critical point given the counterfeit versions already circulating in high-demand markets.
Doctors were careful to frame semaglutide as one instrument in a larger effort, not a shortcut. It requires medical supervision, proper prescribing, and an honest reckoning with lifestyle. The forum closed with a reminder that expert guidance is freely available — and with a challenge: the medicines exist, they are affordable, and they work. What Pakistan must now find is the harder thing, which is the willingness to seek help before the body has already begun to pay the price.
In Karachi on a Sunday in late September, more than a thousand doctors gathered to hear a stark warning: obesity in Pakistan is not a cosmetic problem or a matter of willpower. It is a medical crisis linked to 229 distinct diseases, capable of shortening a person's life by as much as eleven years.
Dr Abbas Raza, an endocrinologist, laid out the arithmetic of the condition with clinical precision. Among people living with obesity in Pakistan, fifty-two percent develop knee osteoarthritis. Fifty-one percent develop high blood pressure. Forty percent experience sleep apnea. Twenty-nine percent develop fatty liver disease. Twenty-one percent suffer heart attacks or diabetes. Nineteen percent experience major depression. These are not rare complications. They are the ordinary course of the disease. And the disease itself has become ordinary: one in four Pakistanis—roughly twenty-five percent of the population—now lives with obesity, including significant numbers of women and children.
The drivers are familiar to any observer of modern urban life. Sedentary work, sugary drinks, energy-dense processed foods, the steady erosion of physical activity—these have accumulated into a public health burden that doctors can no longer treat as peripheral. Yet a peculiar blindness persists. More than seventy-five percent of Pakistanis carrying excess weight do not regard themselves as overweight or obese. They do not change their habits. They do not seek help. By the time they arrive at a doctor's office, complications have already taken root.
The scale of diabetes alone illustrates the problem's depth. According to the International Diabetes Federation, 34.5 million Pakistani adults have diabetes, representing a prevalence rate of 31.4 percent. Obesity is often the precursor, yet it goes unaddressed until the disease has already inflicted damage—until the heart attack comes, or the kidneys begin to fail.
What has shifted, the doctors told their audience, is access to treatment. Pakistan now manufactures cutting-edge obesity medicines at prices far below what patients in wealthier countries pay. Semaglutide, a medication that mimics a natural signal controlling appetite and blood sugar, has emerged as a tool for suitable patients when combined with diet, exercise, and ongoing medical supervision. Clinical trials have shown that patients using semaglutide lose nearly fifteen percent of their body weight. More significantly, the SELECT study documented a twenty percent reduction in cardiovascular death, heart attack, and stroke among high-risk patients. The FLOW study reported a twenty-four percent reduction in serious kidney complications.
Getz Pharma, the Pakistani pharmaceutical company that hosted the forum, has invested billions of rupees in manufacturing and quality systems to produce these medicines domestically. The company exports to forty-five countries and is expanding into Eastern Europe and South America. Dr Faisal Masood Qureshi emphasized that Pakistan is producing weight-control medicines that meet international quality standards—a point that matters because counterfeit versions circulate in markets where demand is high and regulation is weak.
Yet the doctors were careful to name what semaglutide is not. It is not a miracle injection. It is not a tool for cosmetic weight loss pursued without medical guidance. It requires trained prescribers, uninterrupted supply chains, and protection against counterfeit products. Prof Saeed A. Mahar noted that body mass index alone should not determine treatment; doctors must also consider waist size, existing illnesses, and the patient's history with diet and exercise. The medicine works best as one element in a larger shift toward healthier living, not as a substitute for it.
The forum concluded with a reminder that free guidance from medical experts was available through a website and phone line. The message was clear: obesity in Pakistan is no longer a problem without solutions. It is a problem without excuses. The medicines exist. They are affordable. They work. What remains is the harder task—getting people to recognize they need help, and getting them to seek it before their bodies have already begun to fail.
Citazioni salienti
It was not an issue of appearance or willpower— Dr Abbas Raza, endocrinologist
Semaglutide was not a miracle injection and should not be used for unsupervised cosmetic weight loss— Panel of experts at the forum
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