India, Oct. 1 -- The year started with a different celebrity gossip. Not a movie, or a scandal. It was the speculative fervour that dramatic weight loss among household names like Ram Kapoor and Karan Johar was linked to Ozempic, a drug that was a cultural phenomenon abroad. Oprah Winfrey was among the first to start the conversation around the drug, which slowly made its way into the Indian social circle. Although Ozempic is not available in India, there are alternatives.

At its core, the drugs encompass a serious medical breakthrough. They were designed to control blood sugar in type-2 diabetes patients. Their success in lowering weight was a by-product. But as is usual, the latter proved more sellable than the former. Weight-loss made...