More than 100 million Pakistani adults are now overweight or obese, placing the country on the brink of a major public health crisis, experts warned at a high-level medical gathering in Islamabad. Health specialists from across Pakistan and abroad highlighted that obesity is driving steep increases in chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, strokes, cancer, infertility, and obstructive sleep apnea. Without urgent national action, they said, the consequences could be devastating.
At the event, Professor Waseem Hanif from the University of Birmingham emphasized that obesity has become a global epidemic, with almost 2.5 billion adults worldwide overweight and one billion classified as obese. He noted that South Asians, including Pakistanis, are at even higher risk of obesity-related complications, often at lower body weights than Western populations. Prof. Hanif explained that for South Asians, a healthy body mass index (BMI) should be around 23, rather than the international standard of up to 25. He described obesity as a chronic disease, whose main symptom is persistent hunger, and warned that it is seriously reducing life quality and contributing to early deaths in Pakistan’s youth.
A surge in new treatments, such as tirzepatide—a medication shown to reduce weight by up to 25 percent—has raised hopes for better management of obesity and diabetes. Professor Saleem Qureshi, Head of Medicine at KRL Hospital Islamabad, called the local launch of generic tirzepatide a “major relief” for patients, many of whom had previously relied on expensive and unregistered versions brought in from abroad. He cautioned that if current trends continue, more than half of Pakistani children could become obese by their mid-thirties and stressed the urgent need to view obesity as a chronic disease requiring both medication and lifestyle changes.
Other experts at the conference echoed the need for comprehensive treatment. Professor Jamal Zafar highlighted that while drugs like tirzepatide are effective, lasting results require regular physical activity and a balanced diet. He pointed out that exercise does not increase appetite and is an essential part of any weight-loss treatment plan.
Representing Getz Pharma, Dr. Khurram Hussain emphasized the company’s commitment to making effective, evidence-based treatments like tirzepatide affordable and accessible in Pakistan. He noted that advances in therapies targeting obesity and diabetes can also help prevent cardiovascular disease and other serious complications.
Presenting data from the PAK-SEHAT study, Dr. Khurram Nasir warned that an overwhelming majority of Pakistani adults fall outside a normal BMI range, with nearly 75 percent classified as obese. These findings, recently presented at the American Society for Preventive Cardiology in Boston, identified obesity as the leading risk factor for both high blood pressure and heart disease in Pakistan.
The conference brought together physicians from a wide range of specialties, who expressed strong support for the introduction of new anti-obesity and anti-diabetic treatments in Pakistan and called for immediate action to reverse the country’s growing obesity epidemic.
