To think the NHS should not be cutting funding for Anorexia and EDs if they are going to be spending ££££ on weight loss jabs

I have nothing but sympathy for you and I am sorry that the treatment your daughter needs isn't available. And I can completely understand why you feel like it's just sentencing people to death. When budget cuts are made, it's heartbreaking for those affected.

The problem isn't funding weight loss jabs though, as PP have said, a huge amount of those on WLI are funding themselves because the NHS budget for them is miniscule in comparison for the need for them. Obesity is a huge issue that puts huge consequences on the NHS. So with some up front investment, it will bring longer term savings as well as healthier tax payers! So it's easy to see why WLIs are a good investment.

I don't know what the answer is, no disease should have its funding cut. But someone has to make difficult decisions because sadly, the budget just isn't there. I don't think there is an answer that everyone will be happy with. I am truly sorry that you and your daughter are impacted and you have a right to be angry.

But families contribute to caring for people with all sorts of illnesses, that isn't exclusive to anorexia. I was asking if you would want to pay towards the cost of treatment in the same way that you're advocating other groups should pay.

To be clear, I don't want the NHS to start charging anyone for treatment. I just don't think you're going to win the argument for better treatment for EDs by insisting that the NHS should reduce its support for people with other conditions.

If you believe that better early interventions would save the NHS money in the longer term, then make that the focus of your campaign. Not demanding that someone else should lose out in order to favour your preferred cause.

My figures are fair. These are the percentages of people in the UK with these conditions/disorders/diseases. So to be fair that is the percentage of spending that should go to each group.

@Agix 1200 - 1500kcals a day is not under eating.

My friend with a history of ED lied on the prescription and got the injections and now has severe kidney problems. She keeps collapsing with the pain
I can't believe they just give them to everyone, didn't they forsee this?
They are so good for people who need them as the risks of being obese outweigh anything else but they should be a very short term thing and only for those with a lot of weight to lose.

This is dangerous.

This is just another ‘fat people are disgusting’ thread. I hope OP’s daughter isn’t hearing that message. It’s no more morally weak to comfort eat than to self harm.

I think we can tell why.

It’s awful to say it, but it’s about cost. People with anorexia will either get better or they will die. Obese people will require more and more treatment at ever increasing cost, including specialist beds, hoists, even widening doors. NHS Trusts are so low on funds they have to focus on the things that will save them the most money, and that’s obesity.

@HowardTJMoon ok then direct the anger there

im in Scotland- these things are all given different names.

It's not the government making decisions at this level, it's the regional Integrated Care Boards.

But why specifically is the obese group that you are aiming your discontent at? Why not any other group of medical patients?

I think we all know the answer, and your comment about obese people taking responsibility for their condition was a dead giveaway. Are you aware that many people would say the same about anorexic people? That they should just take responsibility for their choices? You would (rightly) claim that's ignorance, and yet you are doing the same.

Anorexia treatment should be funded. Obesity treatment should be funded. Let's not apply morals to medicine. It's a slippery slope.

Your anger should be directed towards the government not to people with different medical issues.

It's not ok that there isn't good enough care for anorexia and other eating disorders. It's awful.

But these are two unrelated health issues.

It's extremely unfair but in a time where more cuts are being made to the NHS and demand is continuing to outstrip supply more than ever before, they prioritise services that benefit the most amount of people. There are far more obese people than people with anorexia and obesity costs the NHS far more in associated complications.

Totally unfair to the individuals it affects though, but the system is crumbling.

Why are you picking on medication used to treat obesity instead of every other thing the NHS spends money on?

Being addicted to food and using it/restricting it/binging for comfort happens to anorexics and obese people. The morbidly obese often suffer from binge eating disorder, like bulimia but they don't try and purge it out.
So not all ED suffers are too skinny, some are way too big.

Overall spending on young people's eating disorders is increasing by 2.9% above inflation this year. Unfortunately it's a postcode lottery as about half of the regional integrated care boards are making cuts. Depending on where you live OP you might be seeing a significant increase in available funding in your area.

Source: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/latest-news/detail/2025/03/05/rcpsych-raises-concerns-over-planned-spending-cuts-to-children-s-eating-disorder-services-as-referrals-rise

Who is getting the moon on a stick? How, exactly?

But I get them privately, and pay for consultation, etc

It’s not true that weight loss medication will be ‘chucked’ at people. There is a very small, targeted rollout to around 200,000 sick people over three years. But more importantly it’s got nothing to do with funding for eating disorder treatment, any more that offering a new cancer drug would be. I’m sorry your daughter is sick. I hope she is able to get effective treatment soon.

It is treatable. Therapy. How much is 4 weeks of private therapy?

Obesity is treatable. Injections. 4 weeks of injections is less than £200 paid for privately. Around 500,000 women are paying privately. Even those who are eligible for NHS treatment because the are unable to get them prescribed. A tiny percentage of obese diabetics are prescribed them, the number for non diabetic obese people is less.

Your data starts off skewed. The comparison isn't relevant.

But @Agix, whilst I hear you point, a person who is underweight / a healthy weight hugely restricting their calories in order to be as small as possible, often with the resulting serious health complications or even death, is just not the same as an obese person hugely restricting their calories to become a healthy weight.

I can see you find it hypocritical for these jabs (and no doubt restrictive diets in general for obese people) to be supported given all the messages you received to promote your own recovery from anorexia. It sounds like a really hard position for you to be in and I imagine a lot of others feel similarly to you.

I suppose it is all a matter of degree though. Most obese people are unlikely to become so small that it endangers their lives. For someone with a history of anorexia, surely the same is not true.

Many diseases don't get the funding they deserve. I was lucky to have private medical cover through work so I actually got an endometriosis diagnosis and appropriate treatment, on the NHS it can take 10 years or more.

They have limited funding, they have to make tough decisions. Obesity is a modern epidemic, untreated our hospitals will be full of people with issues exacerbated by their weight, particularly as they age. The weight loss injections seem to sort the issue out quite quickly.

Yes there is a psychological element to being overweight, but you could argue in our society with food being thrust on you at all occasions and UPF sugar filled fast food being particularly addictive, it's actually a wonder so many are of normal weight.

I don't know much about anorexia but it seems like a very complex deep rooted mental as well as physical issue, with no magic bullet cure. So it's an economic decision to pay for these jabs, and I think it's a valid one. I have two relatives who for various reasons are significantly overweight, I have no doubt that the NHs paying for weight loss injections would save money in the medium to long term for them.

I dont think that the NHS should be paying for victims of motorcycle accidents, or smokers with cancer, or for IVF, or breast reductions .....

(obviously I do - but this is the level you are discussing)