Weight-loss drugs reach 1 in 6 Gen Z adults in South Korea: survey

About one in six South Korean adults from Generation Z used or were prescribed GLP-1 obesity drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro in the past year, the highest rate of any generation, a survey by KB Financial Group shows.

The group's 2026 Korea Wellness Report, released Oct. 25, found that 10.3% of all 2,000 men and women aged 25 to 69 surveyed in July and August had used or been prescribed the drugs, against 16.5% of Gen Z respondents, The Korea Times reported.

Gen Z, defined in the report as those born in 1995 or later, was followed by millennials at 14.2%, Gen X at 7.7% and baby boomers at 2.9%. Men reported higher use than women, at 11.6% against 9%, though more women were aware of the drugs, at 83.1% against 73% of men.

A third of all respondents, 33.9%, said they would use the drugs if circumstances allowed, a share that rose to 39.7% among Gen Z.

Asked why they would consider the drugs, Gen Z respondents most often cited managing their appearance and body shape, at 48.2%, while baby boomers most often pointed to improving their health, at 55.3%.

Overall, 57.3% of respondents said they were concerned about side effects. The drugs, which mimic gut hormones including GLP-1 to help regulate blood sugar and appetite, commonly cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

In 2025, 35.4% of South Korean adults were obese, up from 34.4% a year earlier, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. South Korea defines obesity as a body mass index of 25 or higher, lower than the World Health Organization's threshold of 30.

Patients in their 20s and 30s accounted for 52.9% of the roughly 1.5 million Mounjaro prescriptions recorded in South Korea in the 10 months through May, according to data from the state Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service released in July.

A semaglutide injection pen. Semaglutide is the active ingredient in the obesity drug Wegovy. Photo by Unsplash/Haberdoedas

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's plan to designate GLP-1 obesity drugs, including Wegovy and Mounjaro, as medicines of concern for misuse and abuse goes before a government regulatory committee on Oct. 30, pharmaceutical news outlet Dailypharm reported. The designation would tighten controls on how the drugs are prescribed and distributed, the outlet said.

The KB survey also found that 46.2% of respondents had used generative AI to look up health or medical information, rising to 55.5% among Gen Z, Seoul Economic Daily reported.

Of those users, 61.8% had searched for symptoms, illnesses or their causes, 43.6% for information on health supplements, 34.3% for meal plans and 34% for help interpreting prescriptions or test results.

Gen Z users were the most likely to turn to AI for emotional or psychological counseling, at 37.1%, against 12.6% of baby boomers.

On July 23, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it had caught 26 companies falsely advertising diet foods online as "edible Wegovy" or as able to suppress appetite and block fat absorption, The Asia Business Daily reported.

The short-form video ads used AI-generated virtual people or images of body tissue, and some showed celebrities or pharmacists recommending the products. The companies sold about 600,000 units worth some 11.5 billion won (US$8.7 million), and the ministry asked local authorities to impose penalties and filed criminal complaints.