Alarm as Kenyan women turn to unregulated online weight-loss drugs.
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‘Bye-Bye fat’: Of sellers cashing in on plight of overweight women dying to lose weight
The rising number of obese Kenyan women has created a huge demand for weight-loss drugs, most of which are sold in down-market Nairobi shops or online.
The Kenya Demographic Health Survey report shows that half of educated women of reproductive age in Kenya are overweight or obese, compared to 20 per cent of men in the same age group — a growing number that is whetting the appetite of entrepreneurs who promise to help them shed excess weight. But at what cost?
A Nation.Africa spot check shows that the business is thriving in Nairobi's River Road.
Ms Joyce Gichuki, one of the weight-loss drug sellers, has rented a small space in a shopping centre on Nairobi's Latema Road. She has been selling slimming pills for three years.
"My focus is on women. But a few men buy the pills too. Bye-Bye fat, for example, is my bestseller because it helps people lose weight without side effects or regaining the weight," she says.
"It can help someone lose up to 10 kilos in a month."
How the pills work, she says, is that they help detoxify the body system, suppress appetite and reduce cravings.
Ms Gichuki says business is booming and she often runs out of stock. She tells of a customer who lost seven kilos in three months.
Her tiny shop is tucked away in a run-down building among other shops selling counterfeit beauty products, spare parts and clothes.
With an unregulated weight-loss industry and little public awareness, desperate customers are at the mercy of traders operating in a clandestine market.
Ms Rose Namu is an online seller of weight loss pills and stocks a variety. Some come in a bottle of 100 pills, others are herbal.
"I am not so new in this business, three years of convincing people to buy these products is not easy. One thing I avoid is media publicity. We've had a lot of journalists come and ask questions, some even pretend to be customers just to get to the bottom of where and how the pills are made," says Ms Namu.
"The pills eat up your pot belly and are effective after three weeks," she says, adding, "In a day I can sell to at least four people. That's a big number when you consider how many people have taken over the business. Now it's all about your marketing skills.
Other pills are labelled "flat tummy capsules, max burn, and so on.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in five adults and one in 10 children and adolescents in Africa are expected to be obese by December 2023 if robust action is not taken to reverse the trends.
Half of educated women of reproductive age in Kenya are overweight or obese.
"Africa is facing a growing problem of obesity and overweight, and the trends are increasing. This is a ticking time bomb. If left unchecked, millions of people, including children, risk living shorter lives under the burden of poor health," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa. "But we can solve the crisis, because many of the causes of overweight and obesity are preventable and reversible.”
The challenge is that a majority of overweight people are unaware, given that African society appreciates big and curvy. Some seek solace in the aspect that some overweight people might be healthy.
Ms Ivy Moraa, a banker in Nairobi, says she never thought she could be obese. The news from the doctor came as a shock, she says.
“When the doctor told me my Body Mass Index (BMI) was 32 seven years ago, I was very shocked. I was in my mid-30s. It was a reality check, as no one related to me was obese, so the love for fatty foods put me in that position,” she says.
Obesity occurs when a person’s body mass index is 30 or greater.
Ms Moraa says she has since started taking slimming pills after slimming teas did not yield the expected results.
“I used hibiscus tea for three months, but I could not feel the effects. A banker friend told me about Slim Fit, a slimming pill she ordered online from a seller on Nairobi’s River Road, which was selling for Sh3,500 for a 800g bottle containing 60 tablets, which I was directed to take for one month," she says," I haven't seen the results yet, but I'm hoping they will help me lose weight."
Little is known about the side effects and efficacy of weight-loss drugs because they are unregulated.
However, Musembi Muthusi, a clinical nutritionist at Health Cart says there is no shortcut to losing weight.
“You gain weight by eating food and it is the same food that you will lose weight with. Working out or moving around and watching what you eat are the recommended methods of weight loss. However, not everyone is for the idea of working out or living an active life because of maybe their jobs,” says Musembi.
A lot is hidden with the pills that no one will tell the buyer, such as the ingredients and side effects. It becomes worse with the tablets being sold downtown because most of the traders are after money, he explains.
“Weight loss drugs or anti-obesity drugs alter one of the fundamental processes of the human body, weight regulation, by altering either appetite or absorption of calories,” he says.
"For example, Lipo X Gold contains caffeine, which is an example of a stimulant that increases metabolism, which in turn increases energy expenditure. Long-term use can lead to overstimulation, resulting in anxiety, panic, seizures, headaches, stomach cramps, aggression and paranoia," says Musembi.
