South Africa, Sept. 7 -- The rising use of prescription drugs for weight loss can have life-changing positive effects for those who have struggled to control their weight.

However, psychiatrists warn that users should pay as much attention to the mental health impacts as to the physical transformation.

Licensed in South Africa for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management for people diagnosed with obesity, GLP-1 drugs are increasingly being used by otherwise healthy people for weight loss, in SA as well as globally.

Unknown mental health effects However, Dr Bavi Vythilingum, a member of the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP), warns that not enough is yet known about the impact of GLP-1 drugs on brain fu...