Is Mounjaro a trap or an advantage for Indians?

New Delhi: In March 2025, Eli Lilly launched the new-age wonder drug Mounjaro to manage Type 2 Diabetes and instigate weight loss. Novo Nordisk is slated to follow suit with Wegovy, having already tasted success with Ozempic through the grey market route. Mounjaro has clocked April sales of 4.8 crore, despite a monthly course cost of Rs 14,000 to Rs 18,000. The games have indeed just begun. 

India is often considered to be the Diabetes Capital of the world, with around 10% of the population in either a diagnosed or pre-diagnosed state. According to the scholarly journal Lancet, more than one-third of the country's citizenry will be technically overweight or obese by 2050. In tandem, the two points of data, aided by the considerable linkages to mortality, define the foundation of Mounjaro and its peers in the market. Especially since costs are expected to come down, given the easing of patent regimes. 

The medical community is reasonably skeptical, in spite of proven success in both trials and application. A key concern is What Next, as after the one-time weight loss in bariatric mode, the following steps are unclear. Also, there are concerns about genetic compatibility in terms of 'Western' body types versus Indian. Side effects are concerning, especially post the Covid vaccines, and the only way to find out is to endure the suspenseful passage of time. But yet, the takers are undeniably plenty and markers of early success will surely inspire the Quick Commerce mindset, in a perpetual rush for shortcut gratification. 

So if all seems good, how can Mounjaro be a trap? The answer lies in the deeply dubious Health and Wellness regime followed by most urban Indians, as is visibly and statistically apparent. It includes dietary abuse and exercise hostility, abundant girth being unsuitably endorsed as a marker of being successful and happy. Where course corrections, medically and historically, have been obsessed with the 'undo', imposing restrictions on indulgences, as opposed to 'do', nurturing daily habits for holistic fitness. In this scenario, considering Mounjaro to be a magic potion, unconnected to adjacent actions, can be brutally dangerous. 

One just needs to dip mildly in the sea of data, no need to embrace the Marianas Trench, to get suitably alarmed. The QSR industry, poster boys of junk food, is slated to touch USD 38 billion by 2030. Ultra-processed foods may well surpass Rs 4 lakh crores by 2029, driven by snacks and beverages. The Supreme Court of India, in April 2025, gave a three-month deadline to the Government to make packaging labelling more explicit. A momentum successfully fast-forwarded by digital activist 'foodpharmer' and the 'Label Padhega India' movement.

The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, 2023-24, clearly states that beverages, processed foods and refreshments top our shopping lists, surpassing essentials. According to the ICMR, 56% of our 'disease burden' as a nation is linked to the consumption of junk food. Nestle India recently declared itself as the highest producer of Maggi Noodles in its global footprint and in spite of high taxation, the CSD ( Carbonated Soft Benerages) market is still showing a CAGR of nearly 20%. Restraint, in the form of millets and healthy snacking, is rather anecdotal, not quite tampering with the bravado of the recently affluent. 

To add vansapati to the cauldron, Lancet also suggests that 50% of our population is physically inactive, a figure that's sharply increased in the 21st century. The usual alibis include lengthy work hours, commute timings, public facilities and the cost of gymnasiums, among others. What is even more worrisome is a couple of deep-rooted sociocultural factors. Cheap access to domestic staff leading to structured laziness at home, across population strata. Also, the obsolete yet prevalent notion that lean body frames suggest inadequate nutrients, physical and mental, while WYSIWYG remains the only worthy indicator. Both seem to be in no hurry to change and thus are further instigators of the Mounjaro Trap. 

There is, truthfully, a palatable way to convert this to the Mounjaro Advantage by approaching the wonder drug as the lead player of an integrated lifestyle solution. Where the course is considered successful only when paired with a set of lifestyle and dietary alterations, a 'Do' movement that vests execution authority with the citizen, in cahoots with the mobile phone. The latter being a key accomplice to monitor and aid a healthy lifestyle on certain key parameters.

Structured exercise, calibrated work hours, increased family and friend time, replacing junk food with cooked indulgences and actionable spirituality. The good news is that all of these are already being established as solo patterns currently yearning for scalability, thereby seeking that foundational hub which Mounjaro, or Wegovy, must logically be. Proof of the pudding is a brand new body, and that is clearly not subjective. 

To make the Mounjaro Advantage come to life, we need an Experience Alliance of stakeholders. The leader can well be the new-age integrated diagnostics platforms, whether Tata 1mg or Healthians.com, which are clearly going beyond plain vanilla reporting. In active collaboration with AI-led mobile health apps, food and beverage aggregators, gymnasiums, active apparel, kitchen appliances and of course, physical and mental health experts.

Wherein the round of injections becomes a catalyst for lifelong adoption of healthy habits and not a one-off dramatic event with limited collateral goodness. Influencers, whether helicopter or local, can easily add to the party and aid this culture of 'Do' living, rather alien to our normal way of thinking. Hospital chains can also play the pivotal role, but they are perhaps too busy in the treatment-driven value chain. 

India is ready for the Mounjaro Advantage, as long as we build in a continuing experiential approach. Else this may well turn out to be both a debt as well as a death trap - a mirage and not a lifesaver. Business must sensibly guide the customer for the speedy benefit of all. For in this game of weight, there is no time to watch.