Why Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora Is Against Weight-Loss Drugs

'The unregulated marketing has to stop. People are getting recommendations for this from gym trainers, from marriage counsellors -- that is simply unacceptable.'
'There are many ways to lose weight -- eat less, fast, exercise, eat healthy. That is how you lose weight.'

When Eli Lilly launched Mounjaro -- its blockbuster tirzepatide injection (FDA-approved once-a-week, injectable prescription medication used to manage type 2 diabetes and chronic weight loss) -- in India in March 2025, it quickly became the country's top-selling drug by value, outselling even common antibiotics.

By early 2026, with Novo Nordisk's semaglutide patent expiring, Indian generics manufacturers had flooded the market at up to 80 per cent lower cost, with companies like Sun Pharma launching versions for as little as Rs 750 for a weekly injection.

The obesity drug boom has arrived, and it has arrived fast.

But not everyone is celebrating.

Concerns have grown about the entry of generic versions into the market and the rise of so-called 'Mounjaro Brides' -- women turning to weight-loss injections ahead of their weddings -- while gym trainers and marriage counsellors are reportedly nudging clients towards prescription medication that has no business being dispensed without a doctor's order.

Doctors themselves worry that patients are failing to overhaul the lifestyle and dietary habits that caused the problem in the first place.

Milind Deora, the Rajya Sabha MP from the Shiv Sena, has been one of the most vocal voices pushing back against this trend ever since Mounjaro's March 2025 launch (external link).

Deora once again took to social media this month to highlight how 'wellness clinics (are) now selling 'Mounjaro bride' packages.' (external link)

Deora has also written to the Union health ministry, tabled a parliamentary report on FSSAI reform, and called for higher taxes on sugary products. His argument is not that diabetes and weight-loss drugs are bad -- he is careful to say he has no objection to medically prescribed use. What he objects to is the whole ecosystem: The processed food multinationals that created the obesity problem in the first place, and the pharmaceutical companies now selling the fix.

One hand sells you the illness; the other hand sells you the cure, he tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff in this interview. He explains why he believes India is walking straight into America's mistakes.

'They are marketing the pharmaceutical solution to the problem they helped create'

You said you are not against Mounjaro per se, but against the culture that creates the need for it.
Are you effectively calling out India's growing lifestyle crisis -- junk food on one hand, weight-loss drugs on the other?

Look, what is happening here is that I am unhappy with a certain Western influence that is being peddled to us via QSR (quick service restaurant) chains, social media and unhealthy lifestyles in general.

My concern is that we should not go down the road the United States has taken. America has a serious obesity crisis, and it is being fed, on one side, by the very forces that created the lifestyle problem in the first place, and, on the other, by drugs like Mounjaro and others that offer a short-term fix -- and one that comes with potential side effects, mind you.

So I am looking at this in the larger context of how India's healthcare landscape is being targeted by Western multinationals. It is not just one company. It is the whole gamut of companies peddling this lifestyle.

You have written to the health ministry seeking strict action. What exactly are you asking them to do?

To begin with, the clinics doing this need to be pulled up. There are norms in place, and I am glad the health ministry is already taking note. They have begun to be more careful about the potential misuse of drugs like Mounjaro. The unregulated marketing has to stop.

People are getting recommendations for this from gym trainers, from marriage counsellors -- that is simply unacceptable. This is a prescription drug. It is not an over-the-counter medicine, and it cannot be treated as one.

Beyond that, the ministry of health and family welfare also regulates FSSAI, the food regulator, and so we must look at all of this holistically.

At one level, some of these companies are marketing junk that is making us overweight and unhealthy. At another level, they are marketing the pharmaceutical solution to the problem they helped create. That is not a healthy way to run a country's healthcare.

But these medicines are being celebrated as a wonder drug for weight loss.

There are many ways to lose weight -- eat less, fast, exercise, eat healthy. That is how you lose weight. Not by taking a drug that can have potential side effects, or by going under the knife for bariatric surgery.

I understand there are legitimate medical uses for these drugs, and I respect that. But as a general approach to tackling obesity, this is a short-term fix. It addresses the symptom, not the cause. The citizen has a role to play, and awareness must begin at home. I firmly believe that regulators have to be stricter as well.

'A fresh samosa from a street vendor is not the same thing as buying a packaged, processed kachori from a supermarket shelf'

Do you believe India is becoming a dumping ground for both unhealthy food habits and their pharmaceutical fixes?

I would not say dumping ground exactly -- I would say we are becoming an extension of the American lifestyle. And that is very different from what you see in Europe, or Japan. If you travel to those countries, you do not see the same obesity problem. Why is it that America, and increasingly India, is facing this crisis?

On one side, there is junk food being marketed to us; there is social media peddling toxic aspirations; and on the other side, there is a pharmaceutical quick fix being marketed for the weight problem that the first side helped create.

I am not looking at this as Eli Lilly versus McDonald's. I am looking at it as a cultural push that is not helping countries like India. It is a dangerous export from the US.

But India has always had its own food tradition -- samosas, jalebis, mithais. You could argue the problem is partly homegrown.

We had samosas and jalebis, yes -- but we did not have this obesity epidemic earlier. So something has changed. Part of it is a sedentary lifestyle, I agree. But part of it is also the nature of what we are eating now.

Saturated fats, processed foods, trans fats, excessive salt, preservatives, carcinogens -- these are contributing to obesity in ways that a street-side fresh samosa simply does not.

If you buy a fresh samosa from a vendor on the street, it is not the same thing as buying a packaged, processed kachori from a supermarket shelf. Those products are fundamentally different.

The message is simple: Eat real food, eat fresh food, eat healthy food. Exercise. Do not overeat. These are how you prevent an obesity pandemic. That is what countries around the world that do not have this crisis are doing.

Doctors point out that Mounjaro has shown significant clinical results in trials and is genuinely effective for diabetic and obese patients. Does your criticism risk discouraging legitimate medical use?

If there is a legitimate use and it is prescribed by a doctor, I have no problem with that at all. I am not against medicine. But my personal view is that taking a drug to fix your obesity is not the solution for most people. There are better ways to do it.

'Obesity is spiralling out of control and...'

You have advocated higher taxes on sugary products. Is the real failure here public health policy rather than the drug itself?

Governments everywhere have to walk a fine line between industry (interests), employment, economic growth, and public health. That is the nature of governance. But there comes a point where that balance has to shift.

For a long time, nations could not bring themselves to properly regulate tobacco because the industry was such a large job creator. But eventually, the government, the public, and the courts stepped in -- and rightly so.

I think we have reached a similar moment now. You cannot keep hiding behind industry interests. Public health is a serious emergency in India.

Obesity is spiralling out of control. We need to act, and that means higher taxes on sugary products, banning advertisements targeting children, and encouraging healthier ways of living. Awareness alone is also worth something. Every bit counts.

You have promoted intermittent fasting as an alternative. But can a lifestyle solution like that realistically scale to a country facing rising obesity at population level?

I want to be careful not to overstate this. I cannot vouch for the medical evidence on intermittent fasting across all populations -- that is for doctors and researchers to assess.

What I can say, from personal experience, is that it has been tremendously beneficial for me, and I recommend it to individuals who ask. But the broader point I am making is not specifically about intermittent fasting.

It is about building a national culture of mindful eating, movement, and genuine preventive health -- the way governments in Europe and Japan have done over decades. That is harder and slower than selling a drug. But it is the only lasting answer.