AIBU to think it's time for the NHS to do itself a favour and make WL injections readily available.

By making you actively not hungry. To the point that the thought of eating is unpleasant.

This is not to say you never experience hunger, you will feel peckish at mealtimes or after a few hours without food. But you will eat a small portion and feel full to the point that the thought of eating anything further is grim.

That's how it works and I imagine would work on emotional eaters.

Oh well they best stay fat then .......

I'm morbidly obese and terrified. Dieting has a 95% failure rate and so there is little hope for me.

I would love access to these drugs.
Or to be honest access to adhd meds which similarly calm the chatter in the brain so I believe.
I think my next step is surgery but I really would like to avoid that and surely drugs would be better.

@IamnotwhouthinkIam wow 9 stone. I am failing drastically. And yes I think I get so far and want the seratonin/dopamine hit from food. I'd love to hear more how you did it. You could be in the 5%

But if the nhs pays for bariatric surgery which also doesn't address the cause I don't see the logic in your concern @IamnotwhouthinkIam

Absolutely agree op. 👍

There will be more of these types of drugs available with different drugs companies having their own versions.

The drugs will also be improved and work better.

They are also looking at using them to prevent excess weight gain in the first place.

People say "you'll have take them for life" since I correctly take blood pressure pills and thyroid replacement pills indefinitely why is that a problem? People are very shortsighted. And many are if the mindset that overweight people should be in some way punished and weight loss should be hard. And preferably not long term successful.

I think the NHS would be mad not to make them more widely available when the price is reduced.

Have there been studies that show if people who use weight loss injections keep the weight off long term OP? If not then regretfully I think YABU.

I say that as someone who has struggled with morbid obesity in the past (at my heaviest I had a BMI of 48). I lost 9 stone through diet and have mostly kept it off for the past 7 or 8 years (by mostly I mean I have yo-yo’d putting on a stone or two and then losing it again). Anyone and any diet can lose the weight - it’s keeping it off that is the issue. I am still in the overweight category and would love what sounds like an easy fix - I found/am finding dieting very hard.

My concern with the injections is that they don’t address the reasons for the weight gain in the first place - imo usually poor mental health that causes people to crave heavily processed fatty and sugary foods that give the brain a temporary serotonin boost. So I’m guessing if the reasons behind the poor food choices/overeating aren’t addressed, just like any diet once you stop the injections people will eventually go back to eating how they did before.

With a limited NHS budget I think it would be more practical to see extra funding spent on mental health services like counselling and mindfulness courses designed for people struggling with their weight rather than injections (that they might have to be on for life, if they can’t change their habits once they stop).

Though I do wish there was a magic money pot that would fund both long term extra mental health services AND a limited number of initial injections (so people could get a helping “boost” to help them start their new long term lifestyle change if they wanted it).

Well they pay for people to have bariatric surgery so why not

Is people loosing tonnes of weight with drugs going to make their kids less obese in the future? Like will it save one age range but they'll still be a new generation of overweight kids growing up?

Massively different cultural norms - very reliable public transport, travelling long distance by car is extremely expensive due to tolls, using public transport for short distances is not cost-effective so there is a big cycling culture, lack of land results in it being extremely expensive to keep farm animals or export meat from abroad, food is outrageously expensive anyway. Tofu costs pennies though. Portions are tiny. No dairy in the diet.
Japan is not immune, though, and it is becoming more common to see an overweght person.

Where on earth are you finding that price? Did I miss something?

Absolutely not, the injections are far to expensive for the NHS to be able to aford this at the moment. Not saying it may not change as prices come down. But it's not just the cost of the drug you need weight management clinics as its been shown that 2/3 of people just put the weight back on when they stop the drug. So unless you put resources into helping people change lifestyle at the same time it won't help long-term.

There is a good possibility they may become like blood pressure medication in the long run. Ie we will have a lot off people taking them long term for their health. But that's years away not anytime soon.

The government needs to be spending money on addressing issues with the cost of healthy food and easy access to high processed low cost food in the mean time.

It's socially acceptable to fat shame in Japan. That, combined with an almost enforced active lifestyle (driving is extremely expensive and fraught with complications, so most people have to walk at least some to get to public transport), traditionally healthy food (though that is changing) and a cultural belief in never eating until you are completely stuffed leaves lots of people very conscious of their weight.

As for the injections, I can see it happening as a last resort, but the staffing for the supervision needed isn't there.

I remember a documentary/some studies carried out and a lot of Chinese people couldn't eat too much it made them physically sick and also their fat cells are smaller.

Not an expert, but think its mostly diet - rice, seafood and veg. Saw a really interesting programme about the healthiest places in the world which I'd recommend. Website is https://www.bluezones.com/2020/07/blue-zones-diet-food-secrets-of-the-worlds-longest-lived-people/

YANBU. MIL is very overweight, always has been for the 20+ years I’ve known her. Her health is failing, she’s had one knee op and needs another, her life is very limited due to poor mobility.

I have no idea why the NHS wouldn’t want to save thousands in future health care costs for her by prescribing a weight loss jab now.

I think it would be better for them to address the reasons why people over eat in the first place, help people with those things and then people can take responsibility. Making people a healthy weight doesn't take away the reasons why they eat too much.

For me gradual creep into borderline obese since menopause and the weight just not shifting it's Been a miracle drug.

I swim several times a week and am very active. Also I eat ok on the whole. Meno just made the weight stick like glue.

This has meant I can really stick to a good diet of vegetables salads and fruit and protein. I don't
Miss cakes and biscuits so far.

I'm calorie counting again and intend to keep that up once I'm Off the jabs.

Also I agree that paying £175 a month means I'm more likely to make good choices

I'm only a few kgs
From healthy bmi now and feel amazing.

I was once very overweight and whilst it would have been mortifying, it would have encouraged me to eat less / more healthily. I agree though, it would never wash here.

@LadyKenya agreed 👍🏼

Yes apparently in Japan workplaces have monthly weighs and list the results for all to see.

Imagine that happening here 😂😂😂😂

Liraglutide, the older sibling of semiglutide has been used medically for around 15-20 years. Its well studied and has been used by millions

I read about this today, aside from weight loss it sounds like a miracle drug, reducing inflammation which is the root of many illnesses. If this is true it could save the NHS millions.

I couldn't find anything on what happens if you take it and are not overweight? That could limit it's benefits. Or whether it's been found to help inflammatory disease like rheumatoid arthritis?

Japan have the Metabo Law

A Quick Look on the 'what I eat in a day on weight loss injections' threads shows that a lot of people on these drugs are not eating healthily. They are eating less and losing weight sure but there is often little fruit and veg. They've learned nothing about sustainable healthy eating. They will probably put weight back on once off the injections.

Yabu op, weight loss injections are a quick fix, not a long term solution

I have done what your DH has done several times over which is the problem. I can't see how using a drug to lose weight which you then stop taking can change the cycle