Labour should invest in weight loss medications immediately

Absolutely not. I want the government to educate and empower people to take responsibility for their health. Serious lifestyle changes are needed, not expensive and unnecessary medication.

I don’t agree , why should NHS pay for someone to have weight loss surgery when this person decided to get obese ? It’s a choice to get this size , and to eat so much crap , and even if this person gets the surgery , he/ she most likely will carry on eating in the same unhealthy way again.

That isn’t true. You’re spreading misinformation. There is no shortage of semiglutide and the medication for diabetes and obesity is sold separately.

The private prescriptions are treating obesity and diabetes. Obesity is the no.1 cause of type 2 diabetes. no reason they should be restricted.

it is unfair that so many people have to resort to private medicine and the NHS is not providing treatment

....and all those who smoke should be refused treatment for cancer and lung disease.. all those who drink should be refused treatment for liver problems..

what a narrow minded view.. weight issues are not just about eating and exercise, theres a whole raft of reasons why a person is overwight and its not just food

Not all obese people are inactive
Some of us do exercise regularly and hard

I say this as someone who is paying privately for Mounjaro and is under Tier 3. There's a separate waiting list for the medication once you get there and I've had DBT and continue to have twice monthly dietician appointments with the NHS.

I can't afford to be paying privately but my health is at risk so I go without in other respects to pay the £199 a month for what could be a life saving drug for me.

the NHS already do this! yes its a bind to get it, but its already out there and available if you meet the criteria.

the problem is, the criteria is very strict! and i assume the OP does not meet the criteria.

Indeed, Starmer is the next Messiah if mumsnetters are to be believed. Watch this space.

@parkrun500club
Cycle paths yes please 👏🏻
If we want people to exercise we need proper provision for safe and enjoyable exercise!

No I don’t agree, what happens when you stop taking it? The weight will just go back on without lessons being learnt in how and what to eat.
Maybe in the most severe cases it’s good but these are usually under hospital supervision who are specialists in this field.
A friend takes weight loss drugs she buys online (not sure what they are called) and when taking them she feels nauseous most of the time and so looses weight as she doesn’t eat much but as soon as she finishes them the weight goes back on and the cycle continues.

Wegovy is already available via the Tier 3 weight management service. Waiting lists are long but they also provide advice from the dietician and psychological help with DBT etc in group therapy to help modify the mind and get to the root cause of overeating and comfort eating.

We should absolutely have more reserves so that the waiting lists can be less long but we do need to gatekeep these drugs from the general GP as others have said to help address the fact that as soon as the drugs stop working, your appetite comes back and you need to be able to manage it without regaining massive amounts.

Clearly the weight loss injections do suppress appetite and craving, but do they give you the motivation to properly meal plan, spend time cooking fresh food etc?

Yes, I think having a massive tax on Deliveroo and preventing any new drive through places being built would be a good start. At least you'd have to walk somewhere to get your junk food, even if it's only a few metres across a car park

Invest in cycle paths. Ban pavement parking to make pavements safer and more attractive for people to use. Bring in the two for one offer bans on junk food. I am not sure banning advertising of junk food really works, though. Kids eat chocolate because it's nice. I don't think they are going to start pestering their parents for carrots if they are advertised instead ;)

I am not sure about medication. I agree people will probably lose weight and put it back on, and like vaping and artificial sweeteners, we don't really understand the side effects of these drugs yet,

Yes but to be fair, so can obesity induced diabetes.

Wtf?? No! How about people take responsibility for their own eating and exercise habits and leave the money for people with health conditions that aren't a result of their own poor lifestyle!

This. Even putting aside the emotional reasons why some people overeat. The fact that the availability of such rubbish food, is so freely available, is a big part of the problem, as well as the complete abundance of chemicals in the processed foods, that people consume. Just handing out harmful, short term injections is not the solution.

What will soon have is an arms race, pharmaceutical companies producing drugs that will suppress appetite and cravings versus food companies producing food that is impossible to resist.
These two sectors will compete with each other for our money. Neither cares about our health or well-being. The more we are stressed and unable to make healthy choices the the easier it is for them to manipulate us.

That’s the same with anything. The research shows people on injectable weight loss treatments are less likely to put weight back on that other dieters. But even if it was the same - should we stop people losing weight (or giving up drugs or alcohol) because they might go back to their old ways?

Yes I do think that a lot of people are lazy and don't have the motivation to lose weight. It takes a lot of willpower to stick to a diet and exercise regularly. Plus we need to stop normalising overweight people.

I'd like to see more recognition of how medication can impact weight. I gained weight dramatically on steroids, it all fell off when I stopped them. Thankfully I was only on them for a short period as I reacted badly in a lot of other ways . But it was a very sobering experience

They should heavily tax upfs and use the money to subsidise fresh food.

Absolutely op. I’m on Mounjaro and I’ve lost nearly 5 stone. I’m no longer obese and my health is so much better. I have to pay privately thou for the medication.

The NHS is hopeless at treating obesity. Here is an extremely effective treatment that has the potential to hugely improve health outcomes and reduce spending on other types of healthcare (obesity affects everything from diabetes to heart health to knee health). Why isnt it being offered on the NHS?

I agree with this.
The real problem is that food companies invest huge amounts to make their products as addictive as they can possibly be. This is why so many peoples appetites are dysregulated.
The problem is hyperpalatable food; edible food-like substances which trick us into eating far more food than is good for us.

Funny isn’t it.