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While some may turn to the gym or plastic surgery for a 'slim thick' look, others are looking for a quicker fix, through the 'weight-gain syrup' Apetamin.

One user told THE STAR that she started experiencing weight gain almost immediately after drinking it.

"I was to weigh myself in the day, but it knocked me out. I slept for the whole day, and when I woke up I noticed weight gain," she said.

She said that she bought a bottle of Apetamin from an online store on Instagram for $4,000.

But Dr Marvin Reid, a medical doctor and director of the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit at The University of the West Indies (UWI), is warning that this practice is dangerous and illegal.

"The active ingredient is something that has been around from long time. We in Jamaica know it as Peritol. It's actually a drug. It's not a supplement or a vitamin. In Jamaica, you need a prescription to get it. But people are just selling this drug on the Internet, and it is illegal because it's a prescription item. It's a restricted item," he said.

Reid said that using the drug can even kill the user.

"The ultimate side effect is that people can die. The main side effect is the effect on your brain. So it makes you sleepy, drowsy, impairs your reflexes, and causes irregular beatings of the heart, which can be fatal," he said.

NOT REGISTERED

Dr Ernestine Watson, president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Jamaica, said that because Apetamin is not registered by the Ministry of Health, "it should not be legally distributed in Jamaica, and anybody doing this can be prosecuted".

Meanwhile, Reid said that women should also be mindful that they might not gain weight from drinking the syrup.

"It may not work; don't follow the posts. Those are for marketing purposes. What happens a lot of times, especially with a drug that is not regulated, is that people will make all sorts of claims. They'll come on TV. They'll come on the Internet. They'll come on social media. But those claims are not backed by any scientific data. So that's why it is important for people who are going to take these drugs to do their research," he said.

"But most individuals are looking for a quick fix, and so that will make them susceptible to any unscrupulous person who comes and says, 'I have the perfect solution'," he added