Labour should invest in weight loss medications immediately

No. People should take responsibility for their own health

These jabs, particularly Wygovy are showing clinical results beyond weight and diabetes (which they were originally licenced for). They are helping with all addictions including smoking, gambling and even nail biting. This is the breakthrough drug of the last 100 years. It helps with Parkinsons and now, they think dementia. We need to invest heavily in this as it it seems to be a magic bullet for so many things. Of course OP is right, obesity and associated problems are also things that need to be addressed and if sorted out would mean a huge cost saving to the NHS. This needs to be on the NICE list and advocated as much as possible.

They treat you with dignity to your face…

I work in oncology. We have patients who have developed lung cancer due to smoking; skin cancer due to not using sunscreen; pancreatic cancer or liver cancer due to alcohol abuse; other cancers due to obesity; bowel cancer which is linked to eating too much processed food.

By the time they come to us, all of the lung cancers and all of the pancreatic cancers are too advanced to do anything other than make the patient comfortable and arrange for a bed in the local hospice.

Even if we were cuntish enough to judge these patients with anything less than empathy and dignity, we wouldn't because the people I work with in the NHS understand that shit happens and people aren't the perfect specimens of flowing health and virtuousness that some of you think you are.

Agree. Never have I seen so many unpleasant remarks aimed at people who are overweight.

Is that the same requirement for smoking cessation support and patches?

Congratulations on the weight-loss and for the impact on other health conditions.

How long have you maintained that weight-loss? Have you found it straightforward to sustain this way of eating? Is the impact on your health a strong motivation now that you've experienced it?

@YouAreEffluentKim

Spot on 100%

@RosesAndHellebores I have tried Keto, low carb, paleo, no alcohol etc etc and while I lost weight (this was 2020 and I lost 18kg in 3 months) once I came out of my lockdown bubble and started living my real life again, I couldn't sustain that way of living and I re-gained the weight. I also lost a lot of my hair and it's not yet grown back.

Genuinely, that's great for you if you can live like that for the rest of your life (I AM bring genuine!!) but it's unrealistic for me and probably for most people.

And these drugs give me an alternative to taking those quite extreme measures which are proving very effective and are allowing me to still socialise and share meals prepared by other people without having to impose my restrictions on them or have them cater for my needs.

What's going to happen when I reach a healthy BMI and I can't access this medication anymore, I don't yet know. My private provider has indicated in general terms that they will support a maintenance plan and my NHS GP (I don't get the meds through the NHS) knows I'm taking them and is totally supportive of me doing so.

I hope when the benefits are more widely recognised (and all the myths surrounding these drugs are debunked) the UK will adopt the mindset of the US (and the actual manufacturer of these drugs) that taking them long term is safe and effective when used as part of a healthy lifestyle.

And frankly, I WANT to live a healthy lifestyle. I wish people didn't just assume that all fat or obese people just want to ram McDonalds and donuts down their throats and then take a 'magic pill' to make themselves thin. Do some people want that and want to use the medication to allow them to do so? Sure. Both fat and thin people probably. But speaking for myself and the many, many obese people who have shared their stories about using this medication ( here on MN as well as on other social media platforms and even on Oprah!) we just want to eat healthily and have our bodies react normally to a healthy intake of food and regular exercise.

I thought I was like you. Then I gave up sugar, trans fats, upfs, alcohol and refined carbs, upping fish, fruit and veg. I saved money at the supermarket and lost two and a half stone over seven months. The hunger spikes and visceral need disappeared in a few days. It took a serious health scare to spur me on.

Every arthritic ache has subsided and my eczema has cleared up.

It's funny how many people know someone who can eat what they like and never gain weight and that's put down to 'luck' or 'good genes' or 'fast metabolism'.

But for those of us who have the exact opposite, a body actively working against us to hold on to fat and make it so difficult to lose weight? We're disgusting, lazy and in need of educating about food and health.

If you have never struggled with obesity (I have, my whole teen/adult life) you'll never understand the drive, on a visceral level, to eat, eat, eat. To satisfy hunger that feels physical, mental and emotional.

I liken it to infertility (which I have also experienced). You would never tell a woman who has a compulsive, obsessive need to have a child to 'just stop thinking about it and go about your day'. But that's what it's like for people with obesity (or at least some) - your compulsion to eat drives you to do so and all the motivation and self control in the world isn't going to stop that.

But these drugs (for me, Mounjaro) stop that carnal drive to eat food, think about food, taste food and allow me to eat 'like a normal person'. A chicken salad sandwich is perfectly satisfying for lunch. A beef stir fry nourishes my body and allows me to enjoy the rest of the evening without thinking about my next meal or mourning the dessert I can't eat because I'm on a diet.

But it's pointless trying to explain this to people who have never experienced it. Either because you don't believe me (i can do it, why can't you?) or because you think I'm getting a 'benefit' you don't get by using these drugs and that's not fair to you.

These drugs would definitely improve the health of this society beyond measure and the sooner they are more widely accessible, the sooner we will all feel the benefit.

This is exactly what I think. The issue is remarkably similar to smoking with the notable difference that you can’t really give up eating. But the smoking rates have significantly been reduced so there really is something to be learned from this.

I left this thread yesterday as it was infuriating to read the judgemental, shortsighted and extraordinary stupidity within the comments. So pleased to return to see that there is a more nuanced discussion going on (which sounds ridiculously patronising, sorry!)

I do admit, my DC have done less cooking classes than I did at school.

@HowIrresponsible

Wow you're nice.

@CortieTat I would it’s about the ability to regulate food intake. Once you have gained weight there is an increasing risk you will lose the ability to naturally regulate your food intake and activity levels to ensure you are at a healthy weight.

These new drugs don’t give you a free pass to eat whatever you want but they damp down the disregulation to a point where you can make better choices. There is some evidence to suggest they may help with addictive behaviours like alcoholism and early indications are that they also improve cardiovascular health.

Gosh why hasn't someone thought of this???! Its just so easy

So it is, at the end of the day, about food intake.

In the real world animals also eat to excess, humans have been using this mechanism to fatten livestock for centuries, by restricting movement and providing excess feed at the same time. There’s obesity epidemic among pets as well. So it seems that missing or ignoring the satiety signals is the default response, not an anomaly.

Wow, some very misinformed and really quite old fashioned views being trolled out here.

I do understand the sceptiscm. The diet industry has been promising quick fixes and miracle solutions to weight loss for ever, and we are all just part of that hamster wheel. The idea that there is something that can disrupt that is actually quite subversive.

These "new" drugs are not that new. They have been around and used for 18 years in different ways.

They are NOT a quick fix. People still need to watch what they eat and exercise for them to be effective (contrast with the ridiculous amphetamine type ones of the 70s)

They seem to work by quieting that part of the brain that leads to impulsive eating. Unless you have experienced what is often referred to as "food noise" you will find this hard to relate to. It is a very separate feeling to normal hunger - and almost physiologically hard to resist.

This "food noise" can be triggered by different things - undiagnosed ADHD (sensory and dopamine seeking), adverse childhood experiences, traumatic life events etc)

Once you become "fat" it is almost impossible to lose the weight again. (Post weight loss your daily calorie needs drop by about 20% lower than someone who has never dieted), combine that with the "food noise" and you end up with yo-yo weight.

There is some emerging evidence to show that those who use these semaglutides and able to maintain weight loss - suggesting that they are also helping to reset the bodies set points and metabolism.

But there is also an argument that these will become a long term treatment for some people (not unlike statins or the use of steroid inhalers for asthma)

They are truly going to revolutionise weight loss for many people - and with that the burden on the NHS in terms of future health problems.

We need to see obesity as a medical problem, not a moral failing, and treat accordingly.

If that were a requirement I'd never have been allowed it. I couldn't shift more than a couple of lbs here and there without the jabs. I was bmi over 43 with health conditions, some of which were helping to cause the stubborn weight.
I do think there should be a monitoring of how you do whilst taking the drug though. At the moment I'm out on my own and no one to check my health, weight losses or side effects. Having them prescribed even partly on the NHS would give more control and monitoring to the health professionals.

It could look like that. Take the pressure off GP to assess and prescribe. Also yes I think like dentistry, people of very low wage and certain disabilities could have it free. Why not?

@SpudleyLass
They are currently only available to people with a BMI over 30 when they start or over 27 if they have a diagnosis of a relevant co-morbidity like hypertension.

They shouldn’t be prescribed “willy nilly” nor is anybody advocating for that.

I'm happy to be educated on this.

Is there at least a requirement for people to lose a certain amount of weight, thereby showing commitment, BEFORE prescribed these drugs?

Because I believe that should be a bare minimum standard.

Regarding the metabolic activity of lipid deposits in the body, does it not depend upon where the lipid is stored?

Do you mean a separate obesity service? Something a bit like dentistry, ophthalmology, podiatry?

Would you look for a commitment from people on capped benefits (not exempt by reason of family members with disability, personal disability etc.) and in-work assistance such as UC?

The jabs are made out to be a quick fix in the media but they are not for most people and if you're doing it as advised.
It still takes work, change of diet and determination. It just helps with the brain sending the wrong signals or no signal at all. It also helps to stay full longer and it helps with insulin resistance and blood sugar levels. The rest of the work still has to be done by the person. People who literally can't eat and therefor drop weight dead fast, should be on a smaller dose, it's not designed to do that to people.

I will qualify my previous comments by saying that I am currently overweight.

Certainly not perfect by any means. I do know the struggle to get into the right mindset in order to lose weight and keep to a certain regimen.

I have also previously been anorexic so I do understand how the mechanics of weight gain and weight loss works.

I still say handing out weight loss drugs willy nilly is a bad idea.

Most people do not need these drugs - there is no quick easy fix to weight loss. It simply cannot work without the individual commitng to healthy and consistent eating habits.