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.

What will soon have is an arms race, pharmaceutical companies producing drugs that will suppress appetite and cravings versus food companies producing food that is impossible to resist.
These two sectors will compete with each other for our money. Neither cares about our health or well-being. The more we are stressed and unable to make healthy choices the the easier it is for them to manipulate us.

This. Even putting aside the emotional reasons why some people overeat. The fact that the availability of such rubbish food, is so freely available, is a big part of the problem, as well as the complete abundance of chemicals in the processed foods, that people consume. Just handing out harmful, short term injections is not the solution.

Wtf?? No! How about people take responsibility for their own eating and exercise habits and leave the money for people with health conditions that aren't a result of their own poor lifestyle!

Yes but to be fair, so can obesity induced diabetes.

Yes, I think having a massive tax on Deliveroo and preventing any new drive through places being built would be a good start. At least you'd have to walk somewhere to get your junk food, even if it's only a few metres across a car park

Invest in cycle paths. Ban pavement parking to make pavements safer and more attractive for people to use. Bring in the two for one offer bans on junk food. I am not sure banning advertising of junk food really works, though. Kids eat chocolate because it's nice. I don't think they are going to start pestering their parents for carrots if they are advertised instead ;)

I am not sure about medication. I agree people will probably lose weight and put it back on, and like vaping and artificial sweeteners, we don't really understand the side effects of these drugs yet,

Clearly the weight loss injections do suppress appetite and craving, but do they give you the motivation to properly meal plan, spend time cooking fresh food etc?

Wegovy is already available via the Tier 3 weight management service. Waiting lists are long but they also provide advice from the dietician and psychological help with DBT etc in group therapy to help modify the mind and get to the root cause of overeating and comfort eating.

We should absolutely have more reserves so that the waiting lists can be less long but we do need to gatekeep these drugs from the general GP as others have said to help address the fact that as soon as the drugs stop working, your appetite comes back and you need to be able to manage it without regaining massive amounts.

No I don’t agree, what happens when you stop taking it? The weight will just go back on without lessons being learnt in how and what to eat.
Maybe in the most severe cases it’s good but these are usually under hospital supervision who are specialists in this field.
A friend takes weight loss drugs she buys online (not sure what they are called) and when taking them she feels nauseous most of the time and so looses weight as she doesn’t eat much but as soon as she finishes them the weight goes back on and the cycle continues.

@parkrun500club
Cycle paths yes please 👏🏻
If we want people to exercise we need proper provision for safe and enjoyable exercise!

Indeed, Starmer is the next Messiah if mumsnetters are to be believed. Watch this space.

the NHS already do this! yes its a bind to get it, but its already out there and available if you meet the criteria.

the problem is, the criteria is very strict! and i assume the OP does not meet the criteria.

I say this as someone who is paying privately for Mounjaro and is under Tier 3. There's a separate waiting list for the medication once you get there and I've had DBT and continue to have twice monthly dietician appointments with the NHS.

I can't afford to be paying privately but my health is at risk so I go without in other respects to pay the £199 a month for what could be a life saving drug for me.

Not all obese people are inactive
Some of us do exercise regularly and hard

....and all those who smoke should be refused treatment for cancer and lung disease.. all those who drink should be refused treatment for liver problems..

what a narrow minded view.. weight issues are not just about eating and exercise, theres a whole raft of reasons why a person is overwight and its not just food

That isn’t true. You’re spreading misinformation. There is no shortage of semiglutide and the medication for diabetes and obesity is sold separately.

The private prescriptions are treating obesity and diabetes. Obesity is the no.1 cause of type 2 diabetes. no reason they should be restricted.

it is unfair that so many people have to resort to private medicine and the NHS is not providing treatment

I don’t agree , why should NHS pay for someone to have weight loss surgery when this person decided to get obese ? It’s a choice to get this size , and to eat so much crap , and even if this person gets the surgery , he/ she most likely will carry on eating in the same unhealthy way again.

Exactly why I’m posting this thread!

Tim is correct but he also has a business agenda. Weight loss drugs threaten the Zoe business model

People on weight loss drugs are not eating crap. You can’t, it makes you feel sick. This is a myth that needs to be busted.

Absolutely not. I want the government to educate and empower people to take responsibility for their health. Serious lifestyle changes are needed, not expensive and unnecessary medication.

This is why the money would be better spent on investing in mental health - it would help with a whole raft of issues, not just obesity.

I just don't believe that the NHS should be spending money on something that is for the most part, best solved by the patient with the right support.

There are cancer patients who can't get certain treatments on the NHS

I'm also formerly anorexic so somewhat absolutist in my belief that anything that suppresses your appetite, artificially, is probably quite bad for you in the long run.

Nope! And ozempic is old news. There are better drugs coming (and Mounjaro is already available and far superior).

This.
Labour should invest in interventions that work long term.

There is pretty much no one who is able to have Mounjaro prescribed on the NHS and a massive waiting list for wegovy.

people go through a whole pointless referral to weight management services that takes years and is not effective.

These drugs could be prescribed by gps and monitored by practice nurses. It would be a game changer in respect of public health in the uk.

as I said previously there is no evidence that weight gain after losing on these drugs is more common than without them (in fact the opposite). People who diet without these drugs put the weight back on in 95% of cases. Do we just ignore obesity?

I don't know why you think this. I suffered terribly when I had to go without medication a few months ago as the pharmacy couldn't get hold of any as it was out of stock everywhere. Every month the pharmacist has to ring round to find somewhere with stock.

If you don't believe me maybe you will believe Diabetes UK.

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about-us/news-and-views/our-response-serious-supply-issues-drugs-people-living-type-2-diabetes

Or they could actually have policy that supports healthy living e.g support flexible working so people have time to excercise and cook nutritional meals, force large employers to have a gym/ offer gym subscriptions/have insight canteens providing healthy meals, invest in safe cycling infrastructure (especially around schools), improve school meals, regulate fast food and advertising, offer free counselling to people for food addictions or other eating disorders, build more leisure centres that are within walking distance of people, pay people a decent wage so they can afford healthy food and don’t have to bill up on carbs, cookery classes for different stages of life.

Times in my life when I have been healthiest and thinnest are when I have had more time at home and more agency to plan my own schedule. e.g when I was a student, when I was in maternity leave and when I worked from home. This meant I could more easily plan and cook meals and could control what food was in my immediate vicinity. I also had easier access to leisure and changing facilities in my local area.

These weight loss drugs replace the need for surgery and minimise risks. Did you know that Elvis’s daughter died due to the lasting effect of surgery?