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.

We have no idea about the long term effects of these medications. A short term reduction in some obesity related health issues but then possibly long term side effects? And if someone has exhausted all other weight loss attempts they’d have to be on these medications for life as otherwise they’d put the weight back on when they stopped ?

We need to stop over medicalisation of things like obesity solutions when there are other ways.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5108832-moun-june-ers-2024-continued

Treating obesity is done by consuming less calories than those used.
The solution starts with the person…I don’t like the term ‘patient’
I’d prefer the government to ban the sale & use of cigarettes & those vapey things before prescribing drugs with unknown long term side effects.

I'd rather make obese people pay for their own treatment. If someone is overweight through no fault of their own, then that's different. But people who just eat too much and refuse to exercise shouldn't be funded by the taxpayer. God, the sights you see are shocking. Just this morning I watched two young women coming out of Tesco with a huge tray of donuts – the sort people buy for a party or a work meeting. One girl ripped off the cellophane and they each took out a donut and stuffed it in their face on their way to the car. They were mid-20s and both at least three or four stone overweight. It's disgusting. Why should I pay for weight loss medication for people like that?

Mounjaro? It’s only for obesity- not diabetics and there are no supply issues

They should invest in better lifestyle programmes, not quick fix solutions which just produce other problems.

Yes- according to all the mumsnetters using it

The right support is these drugs. All evidence shows that they are extremely effective. They also seem to lower heart disease (aside from the weight loss benefit).

What cancer drugs are people not getting on the NHS? The only ones I’m aware of are those which have very limited efficacy. That’s not the case with weight loss drugs.

obesity is one of the main causes of cancer together with heart disease and other ailments. If we treat it we could save a fortune

You mean you can't eat upfs at all? Or high sugar foods?

Absolutely this. And refer parents who let their kids get fat to SS just as you would if you let a child get so skinny they were malnourished.

This.

I used to be very overweight but I lost it and kept it off using “traditional” methods. I fundamentally changed my lifestyle, without feeling like I’m depriving myself.

There is enough information out there for people to do the same. I’d invest in education and support (because it’s not easy), rather than quick fixes which should be reserved for the most severe and serious cases.

There are perfectly natural methods of weight loss, and past governments have invested in promoting them. People just don't like them. Which is fair enough - who relishes a gym session when you can shove another cake in your mouth and moan about being a victim of an obesogenic environment? Cake and victimhood - what's not to love? - is there a fashionable hashtag so I can parade my victimhood on social media?

At what point does personal responsibility come in to play?

I believe this is up to patients themselves. For the government to mandate that obese people take these drugs sounds like a dystopian nightmare to me.

Besides, I believe they have far bigger fish to fry. I'd say the housing crises is a far more pressing matter.

??????? What on earth does vaping have to do with obesity?

one very effective treatment for obesity is these medications (outside surgery really the only reliable treatment). Obesity is a widespread problem which causes many public health problems. It’s easy enough to tell people to eat less but we’ve been doing that for decades and obesity is continuing to get worse.

Bring back rationing.

This will be the first of many undoubtedly. Some people are in for a surprise as Labour won't have a bottomless pit. I think Rachel will have a tight grip on the purse strings.

Or people could eat healthy food, and exercise?!

I'm type 2 diabetic (genetic) and have had to dramatically overhaul my diet. I'm now off most of my medication.

It's called personal responsibility and too many people in this country lack it.

I’m a health professional actually, working in public health

No one is mandating anyone do anything. Simply we are asking for the one of the few actually effective treatments for the no.1 health condition in the uk to actually be available on the NHS.

aren't some of these drugs now being shown to cause irreversible sight loss? I don't think enough is known about their long term effects to put the entire nation on them

Excellent, I'm all in favor of anything that helps people to improve their health. It is an uphill struggle, you have to swim against the tide, temptation is everywhere, the lure of highly palatable edible food like substances can be overwhelming!

This is a really good point but I also think that they could do both this and weight loss drugs

Type 2 diabetes can be controlled by weight loss. These drugs are very useful for that.

a predisposition for type 2 diabetes can be genetic but it’s not a genetic condition.

The study was not conclusive only exploratory, numbers were small and there was a selection bias, so we don’t know yet if it causes blindness (in one eye). It could be observational bias as far as we know.