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.

Not a bad idea. Still room for growth lol

Eli Lilly actually! I’m excited about their current trial (new drug) which looks even more promising.

I don’t think a bunch of mumsnetters will have any impact on the share price though!

The replies on here are so enlightening and the poll too. Thank you to everyone for your responses and honesty- it’s clear that the majority of the population are against using weight loss medication as part of the solution in our (long overdue) national obesity strategy. Although I don’t agree I appreciate it is complex and lots of well thought through/well meaning arguments were put forward against them.

If you are taking Mounjaro etc, I would strongly recommend you keep it a secret. The level of judgement and lack of empathy on here is astounding. I wouldn’t tell anyone but my spouse.

If there is one thing I would say to sum up it’s please keep an open mind. You don’t know the journey someone has gone through to making the big decision to start weight loss drugs. Please don’t judge them until you have walked in their shoes. Please don’t write off obese people as lazy and stupid. It is not acceptable to say that to an alcoholic or drug addict, so it’s not ok to say that about people struggling with obesity. Please have empathy.

I think there have been some judgmental replies but also many reasons arguments and debates. I suspect injections will/should be part of a broader multi-prong strategy. Radically reducing UPFs, promoting and making physical activity and health food cheaper, should, in my opinion, be part of that strategy too as should addressing work-life imbalance and mental health. Busy parents will reach out to take-aways or super market meals which a quick but full of sugar, salt and unnecessary chemicals but who can blame them/us. Having low weight but without healthy food will bring its own set of issues.

Here in lies the problem with this country and a huge part of the pressure that the NHS is under. Ridiculous attitudes like this where, rather than people actually taking responsibility for themselves, someone else will fix it for them.
What do you think will happen after the year long course of drugs…all the weight goes back on and back to square one.

I’m overweight because of steroids and the weight didn’t drop off when I stopped them. Probably because I’m over 40. I’m also a single parent, work full time, have a disabled child and have had a very stressful year. I’d love to be healthier, but I cannot find the time and mental energy required for all the meal planning, prep and exercise.

Can you tell us more about their new drug, please?

I'm exasperated & taken aback by the numbers of posters who refuse to acknowledge the complexities and difficulties involved with obesity.

It's called retatrutide. Also made by eli lily. Mounjaro targets two receptors, retatratude targets 3. So far trails are showing better results that Mounjaro. Still in trail phase. There is actually a trail you can sign up for in UK. But too late for me and many others on Mounjaro as no longer obese.

Did you take any notice of any of the evidence about the efficacy of them compared to other weight loss approaches?

For anyone interested in this trial, the protocol and the inclusion or exclusion criteria:

clinicaltrials.gov/search?locStr=London,%20UK&country=United%20Kingdom&state=England&city=London&cond=obesity&intr=retatrutide&checkSpell=

Not read the whole thread but no, we need them to invest in healthcare as a whole, the areas that are scarily underfunded already and struggling to keep going. I think this is something of note but it cannot be a priority when there are so many other areas that desperately need investment. I’m sorry. There are GP surgeries having to lay off staff and going into financial ruin because their funding is so bad

I found some interesting ideas in the first 7 pages of the thread. I had to give up reading them though, as I was struggling to wade through the vitriol poured on all those lazy, fat, unhealthy, weak people who are wasting taxpayers money on ‘easy fix’ drugs. And as a matter of interest, you do know fat people pay tax also, so they would in fact be paying for themselves to be prescribed a life changing drug from the very pot of taxes they pay into.

I think there might be lessons to be learnt from almost eradicating cigarettes smoking in our society.In 1974 45.8% of people smoked in UK. Now 12.9% smoke - 1 in 8 people smoke now.

We need to control the messages about food- Warnings on packets, ads on TV, reduced the number of places that can sell junk food, keep fast food outlets away from schools and bus stops, only one Mc D etc in a 10 mile radius, junk food banned or at least cleaned up in cinemas, stadiums, football matches, city centres. Make it unacceptable to sell unhealthy food. Put eating well squarely at the centre of living a healthy life style in schools, hospitals, work places, supermarkets. We’ve hidden cigarettes away in shops and sent a powerful message.

I would go to a healthier choice supermarket that didn’t have all the junk food and pay more to eat better.

Hey, maybe they should research and invest in putting anti-depressants in the water supply... seeing as so many "workshy" people claim sickness benefits for depression.

Meant as sarcasm.

I agree with that and I’d like to see this in my own country. I’d also like to see an equivalent of the Metabo Law implemented. We already have some laws that make employers responsible for prevention and they do work - I have yoga and stretching at work, subsidised entry fees on local races and so on but there’s no direct penalty for the employer for inaction, also health controls are non-existent, except for smear tests and mammography. I had my last free overall health check when I was 19.

I expect a complete 180% change of attitudes would affect the structure of the whole market, as it would become less profitable to run a fast food joint than a fitness centre.

Thank you OP, for such an enlightening thread. I am both baffled and terrified by the judgemental attitudes. Looking at the lack of response when asked about the cost of other ‘self-inflicted’ conditions it seems that this discrimination applies only to obesity to a lot of the people on this thread. (Plus smoking in one case).

I believe this discrimination applies to the medical profession too. I didn’t hear the whole interview so I may have misunderstood, but the gp on Woman’s Hour yesterday was warning how new all these drugs are. Firstly, at least some of them are very much not new. And secondly, no doctors were bothered by the newness of the Covid drugs. They were virtually dragging us off the streets into the vaccination centres!

It seems the overweight and obese should hide themselves in shame rather than make use of some actually life changing and money saving drugs so horrifying is their self inflicted condition.

Sobering, indeed.

I know so little about this—is the Metabo Law successful? Do you think it's culturally suited to the UK or something to which workplaces here might adapt?

Is Metabo generally implemented in large-scale employers and workplaces or is it equally suited to small to medium sized businesses (which employ 60% up of the UK working age population)?

It moves the responsibility for population weight gain (measured in waistlines) not only onto employers but also the local governments. It’s been implemented in 2008 and my understanding is that it’s still in place.

Whereas a food tax was implemented in Denmark and abolished after a few years because the positive effects were minimal but it affected Danish producers, people started smuggling food from Sweden and Germany 😅