Labour should invest in weight loss medications immediately

[HowToSaveTheNHS]

AIBU to think the Labour government should seriously consider rolling out weight loss drugs to the obese population, to tackle obesity, diabetes and cut NHS waiting lists? Traditional public health measures to tackle obesity are not working.

We spend so much money treating disease associated with obesity and it’s only going to get worse as increasing numbers of people are living for decades with multiple health conditions associated with obesity. Even dementia’s leading cause is Type 2 diabetes.

Looking at the Mounjaro thread on here, huge numbers of Mumsnetters are successfully losing weight and improving their health. But people on lower incomes won’t have access because the drugs are expensive.

A course of drugs for a year will surely be money well spent if we can reduce heart disease/ diabetes/ dementia/ cancer etc… even hypertension.

You can buy a plain hot chocolate at any high street cafe no problem. They ask if you want whipped cream, mallows etc. It’s not as if they’re forcing it down your children! Talk about being over dramatic..

As for cake - share, take the other bit home, buy one of the smaller options (there are always some). You are projecting and blowing this out of proportion.

If you want smaller portions and less UPF I suggest that you go to an independent coffee shop. More expensive but worth it. It’s hardly shocking that Costa, a cheap chain owned by Coca-Cola is unhealthy.

@HowToSaveTheNHS forgot to ask as well - how old are you???

Yes it’s considered impolite to others to take up too much space in Japan, but even there, obesity is rising.

I'm fat and need to lose weight. I know what I need to do, I just don't have the motivation or willpower. I have enough issues with my digestive system (after having my gallbladder out) so I'd rather take my chances being fat than take weight loss drugs. It doesn't help that I hate exercise as well. I find it boring and hate getting hot and sweaty. One day it'll click and I'll do something about it, that's what happened in the past, but it won't be with drugs.

These drugs are amazing if they help people lose weight but they don’t get to the route of the issue.

Very few people are overweight due to overeating because of hunger.
Usually it’s much more complex.

These drugs should be available on the NHS more but I think there should also be other things put in place too - perhaps therapy, mandatory cooking in schools, lowering the price of healthy food etc.

Weight loss pills and surgery have been around for decades but the number of obese people (including children) still increases.

So although I know where you’re coming from, I can’t see how these injections will actually help in the long run.

We risk not doing enough to stop people from getting obese, just because we can just throw drugs at it.
This is not going to help in the long run and we’re reaching our kids that it’s ok to overeat (self harm) because you can just take medication instead.

We know that will any illness, taking medication is the last resort.
So why instead of giving people free gym memberships or weekly vegetable vouchers, are we going to throw medication (with side effects) at the problem.

Prevention is always better than treatment and it’s better to focus on preventing people from becoming obese, than to just throw drugs at the problem.

All these people taking this drug are losing weight because they’re burning more calories than they’re eating.

Type 2 diabetes is a possible side effect of statins.

People saying that overweight people are lazy or just can’t be bothered to diet are not understanding the huge, complex underlying reasons for overeating.

Overeating, just like under eating, is a form of self harm.

This is what needs to be tackled first and foremost.

Some of the comments on here are very harsh but I bet they wouldn’t be as harsh to someone who was anorexic.
But they should be treated exactly the same.

Poor people are more likely to be over weight.
Depressed people are more likely to be overweight.
Single parents working multiple jobs are more likely to be overweight.

In most cases it’s not as simple as someone being lazy.

I don't disagree. However…

Public funding for health services in England comes from Department of Health and Social Care's budget. The Department's spending in 2022/23 was £181.7 billion. The vast majority of this spending (94.6%, or £171.8 billion) was on day-to-day items such as staff salaries and medicines.

https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/data-and-charts/nhs-budget-nutshell

My back of the envelope for an obesity injectable etc. would be £1.69B per month or £20.28B per year (or £21.97B if calculated on 4 weeks). These would be the calculations until however long it takes to come off patent or to switch to an oral formulation that would likely have a far more sustainable uptake than the injectable. (I've not costed full MDT support for people, just basics and no adverse events or the cost of rectifying associated harms like gallstones or falls resulting over time from muscle loss.)

Leaving aside the manufacture/distribution/follow-up issues, it's something for which I'd like to see the full economic breakdown over a lifetime. (That would need to cost in the people who have adverse events like the gastroparesis, rare eye conditions (that add up when a very big number of people take something), gallstones etc.).

The moral hazard doesn't disturb me if the health improvements work out for people (as well as the NHS). But, I'm uneasy that it's easier to come up with a (potential) medical solution than to implement changes to remove the drivers that have brought us, as a population, to this point.

A bit late to the thread, but why don't people manage their own weight?

Obviously, some can't help weight gain because of medical reasons, but I don't mean them.

Nope it’s just more fat people bashing and it isn’t true on balance if you have actually read all the threads

Absolutely not.

We have no idea what the long term implications of these medications are.

Proper mental health services need investment, not weight loss.

42…. Why?

As a GP, last year we had to change all our diabetics who were on semeglutide to insulin, as there was no semeglutide available. In coincided with it being available to buy for weight loss. So I’m pretty sure the supplies for the different conditions aren’t separated.

I think there are higher priorities
Not all diabetes is related to weight. Type 2 diabetes may increase the risk of dementia but is NOT the leading cause

@StickItInTheFamilyAlbum Yes, I agree with you, and sorry for misunderstanding your calculations (not my strongest point!). You are also absolutely right that at the societal level it’s just crazy that we have got to this point.

I work in healthcare, and it just seems we don’t understand generally what an absolute timebomb obesity is for the NHS (to mix metaphors the billions spent at the moment is the tip of the iceberg). Of course, many of the posters are correct and people must take more responsibility, but where we are and where we’re heading is such a huge crisis that I think we should be grabbing with both hands any potential solution, even for the short term, as I don’t see taxes on UPF’s or more cycle lanes happening anytime soon.

I haven't implied that.

It isn't easy. It is indeed hard work. I am overweight from stress, and not exercising enough,.and the odd/regular drink.

I am not stupid, not lazy...just find it hard to keep doing all the things that are good for me.

I don't believe in a magic pill though. I believe that I need to eat healthily, sleep well, stop drinking, go to yoga. My I appreciate everyone is different. But we can't all be that different.

How much are you exercising, sleeping, how many portions of fruit and veg a day?

The drugs work so I'm sure one day they will be available on the NHS. Not the branded version but a generic brand that will be made once the patients run out on these drugs. I think Ozempic/Wegovy patient runs out soon, so once there is a cheap generic version then I'd say the NHS will start offering it.

Long term if they reduce weight related health conditions that cost the NHS more, then it makes sense to invest in something that can prevent these conditions from happening and save money long term.

The studies on blindness was conducted on only people that already had eye conditions. So not with a range of people with and without. So the results are pretty skewed. Diabetes already have a risk of blindness.

Also, surely these are a better /cheaper options than bariatric surgery.

Also, surely these are a better /cheaper options than bariatric surgery.

Maybe MNHQ might invite a health economist, a bariatric clinician, a diabetologist/cardiologist/endocrinologist, some NHS service design people and an NHS commissioner along for a webchat. It would be very informative!

ETA: forgot to include primary care HCPs in this!

What if you can eat those foods in moderation? We eat very clean 99% of the time with an occasional treat why should we pay more for those who can't control themselves?

I would say not pay but invest in so people can buy them more easily if that's a route they want to go down.

and the coffers are empty, the debt huge and repayments diabolical.

Yes, I've already heard them say a few times there's very little in the pot.

That's already happening actually, there's a new, even better drug apparently, the name escapes me now but yeah that's good point

I've put YABU but not because i don't think people shouldn't get these drugs on the NHS if they want them.. but because I don't think they are necessarily the quick fix you think they are.
The obesity crisis is really linked to poverty.
Of course there are people who would benefit from these drugs being offered via the NHS (I am probably one of them!)
But I do think a vast amount of weight issues we have as a society are caused by social issues and can't be medicated away.
I think a good start would be in schools.. free breakfast at breakfast club.. free school dinners throughout primary and of a decent quality.. proper home cooked meals with no UPFs. More provision for PE in schools.. more after school sports clubs. More funding for parks and leasure centres that people can access for free or low cost.
Maybe free exercise classes for anyone overweight wo wants to attend.. free access to leasure centre gyms.
Takling food poverty obviously!!
Places you can get free fruit and veg without having to be referred. Community kitchens etc

A real issue for people living in poverty is that the quickest foods are very high calorie. And it's more about cost in time than money.. coz yeah a carrot is cheaper than a Mars bar.. but one is going to fill you up faster than the other which needs preparation to become part of a filling meal.

I'm currently overweight... working night shifts for the NHS and having had 3 kids.. it's the tiredness
I'm not living in poverty but I can't afford expensive food. I know a lot about nutrition but it's the time and energy.

What I'd personally love would be if there were a free gym at my workplace or something.. or I got free membership to a gym via work..
That's a pipe dream but I'd prefer that to just being put on medication by my doctor.

I’d rather they invest in ways to incorporate physical exercise and fresh food into daily life. Excellent cycle paths, good quality affordable gyms and pools, a reassessment of the traditional food pyramid, more restrictions on fast food places near schools and so on.

Some people manage very well not to become obese. Everyone in life has a choice some people just make bad ones.