Here comes the ‘Mounjaro bride’: Indian women turn to weight-loss drug before wedding
Brides sit during a mass marriage ceremony in Mumbai.
Photo: AFP Soon-to-be brides and grooms seeking short cuts to shed pounds before the big day have become the latest consumer target for weight-loss drugs in India.
New Delhi wellness clinic Klarity Skin Clinic touts a “Mounjaro bride” package, while other clinics have woven weight-loss injections into “pre-wedding” transformation packages typically focused on skin treatments and hairstyle makeovers.
In a social media video, Klarity offers “guided nutrition, Mounjaro and smart workouts” to prepare brides to walk down the aisle.
The clinic did not respond to a request for comment.
Eight doctors said they had been fielding inquiries from brides, and some grooms, about taking weight-loss drugs before taking their vows.
A bridal couple perform rites at the groom’s house in Jaipur.
Traditional Indian weddings are typically grand affairs.
Photo: Shutterstock Many asked for Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, the first GLP-1 medication to enter India’s market for both diabetes and weight loss.
It was more sought after than Novo Nordisk’s rival Wegovy, the doctors said. “Over the last few months, over 20 per cent of the queries we’ve received for obesity injections are from to-be brides, who also openly give us a timeline on how soon they are getting married,” said Rajat Goel, a bariatric surgeon at Hindivine Healthcare in New Delhi.
He said he prescribed the drugs only if patients were medically eligible, not for cosmetic use.
Weddings in India are grand affairs for families that can afford them, with culture and tradition exerting a strong influence.
Many marriages continue to be arranged by families, often bringing expectations around physical appearance and financial status.
Aditi, a 26-year-old finance worker from Mumbai, consulted a doctor in November for a weight-loss prescription after exercise and diet failed to get the desired results. “When I see the result, I feel happy,” Aditi said about losing 10kg (22lbs) on Mounjaro before her February wedding. “If I am not happy, I don’t feel confident.
I did not want to feel that way at the time of the wedding.” She is one of the half a dozen brides, and one groom, who spoke about pre-wedding use of weight-loss drugs, but asked not to use their family names due to social stigmas.
They cited societal pressure to look a “certain way” at their wedding and most had discontinued the injections soon after.
Novo and Lilly launched their obesity drugs in India la
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