One in 10 adults has used obesity drugs in the past year; the figure rises to 16.5% among Generation Z

KB Financial survey of 2,000 people finds one in three willing to try the drugs in the future

This image is not directly related to the article. [Generated by AI]
This image is not directly related to the article. [Generated by AI]

Obesity drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro are reaching a far wider audience in South Korea. One in 10 adults in the country has been prescribed or used such medications in the past year, according to a new survey, with younger generations leading the trend. One in three respondents said they would be willing to try the drugs in the future — even though a typical course costs 400,000 to 500,000 won ($377) a month — citing health improvement and appearance as their main motivations.

The findings come from KB Financial's management research institute, which released its "2026 Korea Wellness Report" on Sunday. According to the report and Yonhap, 10.3 percent of respondents said they had been prescribed or used a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) obesity drug within the past year.

The report was based on an online and mobile survey of 2,000 men and women aged 25 to 69 living in major cities, conducted from July 21 to Aug. 5. Respondents included retirees and other adults engaged in independent economic activity.

Breaking down usage by generation, those born in 1995 or later — Generation Z — recorded the highest rate at 16.5 percent, followed by millennials at 14.2 percent, Generation X at 7.7 percent and baby boomers at 2.9 percent.

Men reported higher rates of prescription or use (11.6 percent) than women (9.0 percent). Women, however, were more likely to have heard of obesity drugs, with 83.1 percent saying they were familiar with them, compared with 73.0 percent of men.

Overall, 33.9 percent of respondents said they would be willing to use obesity drugs if circumstances allowed. The figure was highest among Generation Z at 39.7 percent. Among those who had already been prescribed or used the drugs, 65.5 percent said they intended to continue using them.

When respondents who expressed at least a neutral interest in using the drugs were asked why they would consider doing so, the top reasons were health improvement (40.4 percent), appearance and body management (31.9 percent) and appetite control (20.8 percent).

Generational differences were notable: Generation Z most commonly cited appearance and body management (48.2 percent), while baby boomers most often chose health improvement (55.3 percent).

However, 57.3 percent of all respondents said they were concerned about potential side effects.

Separately, 46.2 percent of respondents said they had used generative AI to seek health or medical information. The rate was particularly high among Generation Z, where more than half — 55.5 percent — had done so.

Among Generation Z users who had turned to AI for health or medical purposes, 37.1 percent said they had also used it for emotional or psychological counseling — far higher than the 12.6 percent recorded among baby boomer users.


sun@heraldcorp.com