You will know the brand names by now: Mounjaro, Ozempic, and a growing list of others. Weight-loss injections are one of the most asked-about treatments in the clinic, and they do genuinely help, but there is an important condition attached, and it is worth being clear about before you start.
They work best as one part of a plan, not the whole of it. Rely on the injection alone, without changing your diet or your activity, and the result will disappoint you. Paired with a reduced-calorie diet or more physical activity, the same injection does far more. The medication makes the effort easier; it does not replace it.
Their value is not only cosmetic. These medications help manage several conditions that travel with excess weight, including hypertension and diabetes. They also help with sleep apnoea, the condition, common in people carrying extra weight, where breathing becomes difficult or stops during sleep, with real consequences for health.
At the clinic they are offered for both aesthetic and medical reasons, including the management of diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnoea. Which of those applies to you is the first thing a consultation works out, because it changes how the treatment is planned and monitored.
Associate Professor Dr. Lubna Rani Faysal
MBBS (Gold Medalist), FCPS (Dermatology), MHPE · 13 years in dermatology
