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.

Depending on what you mean by "a healthy weight," (obesity vs overweight) it's something that is proving difficult and elusive to between 26-50+ % of the adult population. The consequences of this cover a substantial range for individuals and more widely.

Yes, if excess body fat was a simple problem do deal then it wouldn't affect such a large proportion of the population.
Animals are programmed by evolution to eat as much food as is available to them, combine that with modern foods which are designed to be as compelling and additive as possible. That's why so many people struggle.

Regulating UPF would be much more effective and sustainable

A non-free system hasn’t really helped with obesity in the USA has it 🙄

Really? You don't know how you'd eat that much? What do you think people are eating to put on weight?

If you put on 1lb a week ( which is 3500 calories over what you need, 500 calories a day, in my case that's eating 1900 calories a day) you would gain 52 lbs in a year. It's easily done actually.

Even IF it was the obesity that caused the heart attack (because thin people have them so how are we to know)..that doesn’t mean that you know the fat person’s story.

I absolutely believe that the vast array of ready meals, UPF's, and takeaways, that people do not even need to leave their home for, are at the heart of what we are seeing today. Food is too readily available, and the quality of it is highly questionable. It is full of chemicals, additives, and other unpronounceable things. People need to be educated, this is a national problem, and needs to be treated as a Governmental health crisis.

Well, it’s not a few. It’s 1 in 3 adults.

I think the NHS should prescribe Wegovy to anyone with an obese BMI. I have watched my sister struggle and struggle to control her weight. Genes play a huge role - two female siblings were comfortably BMI <20 and hers was well over 30. Growing up she clearly had so much more food “noise” than us, she was obese from toddlerhood with the same parents, same meals and same upbringing.

The playing field is NOT level when it comes to losing weight. We don’t tell people with mental health to go without the medication that makes their brains work properly; we don’t tell arthritis sufferers to suck it up and deny themselves painkillers and steroids. The science IS catching up and it’s simply really really hard for a portion of the population to maintain a steady normal BMI.

According to some expert in today’s Times, people should be put on the drug only if they agree to follow a healthy diet, and don’t just carry on eating junk, but less of it.

Tim Spector?

And if only there were fixed agreement (beyond Zoe which is Spector's conflict of interest) on what constitutes a healthy diet (different people, life stages, cultural preferences). And if only there were some indication that people who are obese developed obesity because of their consumption of "junk"…

dementia’s leading cause is Type 2 diabetes.

Incorrect. See attached

@Ereyraa How dare you??? My weight gain is due to being prescribed Steroids due to a life limiting disease.

Reported

So she needs to persist permanently on a starvation diet - as that is truly the only way she doesn’t gain weight? Jog on.

Metabolic issues are very real. She is intelligent and motivated. She works so bloody hard to stand still.

Having grown up with her I assure you we all ate the same very healthy diet (our mother is a healthcare professional). Do you really think a toddler is in control of their food choices?

That's not true. There's not a supply problem for those paying for it.

No (and I say that as an overweight person).
For the majority of us fatties, we need to eat less and move more, it’s not rocket salad.
Fruit and veg is perfectly cheap enough.
I’m fat because I spend too much time sitting on my arse.
There are far more important things for the money to be spent on.

@Ereyraa It has been proven that fatshaming does not work. It is not going to help anybody. I honestly think that the situation is so entrenched that it would take a long time to reverse the whole problem. The Government could start by tackling the food companies that have been allowed to poison people with all these UPF's etc.

The massive increase in obesity is mainly down to the environment we live in. We need to ban junk food advertising, label upfs better, tax unhealthy food (like the sugar tax) etc.

She is in charge of what goes in her mouth as an adult, that’s the beauty of the world we live in.

What isn’t on, is she eats what she wants, then taxpayers have to pay to mitigate the results of this, because she doesn’t like it, and wants to lose weight.

If she puts on weight more easily than some; thems the breaks. There’s lots of us in the same boat; it’s just how it is - you have to eat less then some others if you want to be slim.

There's no supply issue full stop any more.

There was a supply issue and it was also an issue for those buying it privately but has largely been resolved.

Wouldn't that bankrupt the NHS?

I know someone who got diabetes and all the other things that go with it because the NHS were shit at dealing with mental health. So I'd say they need to invest in mental health first. If people with mental health issues take these drugs the majority will put it all back on.

As many have said before me, banning UPF and making it easier to access healthy foods would target the root of the problem. Weight loss medication is not going to educate people or encourage healthy habits.

It's not "really hard" for the majority of the population to maintain a healthy weight. Years ago people managed it. I agree we have less time now, but we are better educated and have lots of time saving devices. Healthy food isn't expensive, it might be boring healthy and repetitive, but it would be healthy.

People make choices. I weigh more than my siblings because I eat more than them and move less. Not to the extent my bmi is unhealthy, but I know my own faults.

Some obesity is linked to complex trauma and isn't 'just' weight. Most is bad education, generations of eating rubbish and a tendency to expect someone else to sort your life out.

I'd support this.