KARACHI: Health experts have sounded the alarm over Pakistan’s worsening obesity crisis, warning that more than 100 million adults—over three-quarters of the population—are overweight or obese, putting the nation on the brink of a major health disaster.
Speaking at a high-level conference in Karachi, national and international specialists identified obesity as a leading driver of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, cancers, and kidney failure. They cautioned that without urgent intervention, the epidemic could overwhelm Pakistan’s already fragile healthcare system.
Prof. Waseem Hanif, Professor of Diabetes and Endocrinology at the University of Birmingham, described obesity as “a normal response to an abnormal environment.”
He noted that while 2.5 billion people worldwide are overweight and one billion are obese, South Asians face greater risks at lower body weights.
“For South Asians, the ideal BMI should be closer to 23. Obesity is a chronic disease that shortens lives, causes sleep apnea, and damages quality of life. In Pakistan alone, over 100 million people are obese,” he said.
Prof. Hanif highlighted new medical treatments such as tirzepatide, which can reduce body weight by up to 25 percent, but emphasized the need to pair them with healthy diets and regular exercise. “Obesity is a disease, and its main symptom is hunger,” he remarked.
The event also marked the launch of Pakistan’s first locally manufactured generic version of tirzepatide by Getz Pharma, hailed as a breakthrough drug in global obesity and diabetes care.
Meanwhile, Dr. Riasat Ali Khan, President of the Primary Care Diabetes Association of Pakistan, warned that non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia are rising rapidly. “Obesity is the mother of all sins. By controlling it, we can prevent and manage most of the major diseases afflicting our population,” he stressed.
