Obesity forum to discuss poor treatment environment amid weight-loss drug frenzy

A forum has been organized to discuss the legislation of an “obesity law” to improve the disorder’s treatment environment.

Rep. Lee Ju-young of the New Reform Party, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, will hold a policy discussion on “Enacting the Obesity Act and Improving the Environment for Obesity Treatment” at 2 p.m. on Thursday at a conference room of the National Assembly Members’ Building.

The obesity rate in Korea has been steadily increasing, with half of all adult men and women in the country being obese. Nevertheless, the government has not come up with any follow-up measures since it announced the first comprehensive national obesity management plan in 2022

In addition, it has become an important social issue to ensure that GLP-1-based anti-obesity drugs, which recently attracted public attention, are used correctly and not misused or abused for simple dieting purposes.

In the forum, experts will diagnose the social and economic burden caused by obesity and discuss in-depth policy alternatives for comprehensive management of obesity and improvement of the obesity treatment environment.

Professor Lee Jun-hyuk of the Department of Family Medicine at Eulji University College of Medicine will present on “Socioeconomic Burden of Obesity.” Professor Nam Ga-eun of the Department of Family Medicine at Korea University College of Medicine will present on “Policy Recommendations for Comprehensive Management of Obesity and Improvement of Obesity Treatment Environment.”

The presentations will be followed by a panel discussion with Jung Hye-eun, director of the Health Promotion Division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ahn Kwang-soo, director of the Biopharmaceutical Product Quality Division at the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Kim Yoo-hyun, representative of the social cooperative BSmile Social COOP, and Lee Jin-han, a medical reporter at the Dong-A Ilbo.

“Obesity is the cause of numerous diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia are actively taking measures to combat obesity through national policies,” Rep. Lee said. “I hope meaningful discussions will be made, and various proposals made for solutions through the panel discussion.”