AIBU to think the jabs won't help the economy?

[EuclidianGeometryFan]

To add to the debate on weight loss jabs and the economy, try this thought experiment:
Suppose everyone who is overweight gets the jabs, for as long as they want, and they all get slim and lose their appetites.
The NHS saves a fortune.
But the supermarkets lose a fortune, and the take-away shops and fast-food restaurants, and the pubs and corner-shops selling late-night drinks and chocolate, and the delivery drivers rushing pizzas to our doors.

Any big supermarket has whole aisles dedicated to crisps, fizzy drinks, sweets, cakes, ready-made fat-laden food. It probably takes up about 3/4 of the floor space. Will no-one buy all this?

Surely the loss to the economy in the food industry will be greater than the savings to the NHS?

Or is the thinking that we will still buy as much crap food, then get it home and half way through eating it think 'I don't fancy this now' and bin it?
Will we just be adding massively to the food waste issue?

I get that the government is trying to address a huge issue, but they need to consider all aspects, and accept that the right solutions for society won't necessarily boost the economy.

There's loads of slim people who still buy crisps, chocolate, takeaways etc so I don't think that it will have that much effect on the economy.

Isn't it about everything in moderation.

This defo isn’t the case, I have a bmi of 20 and do a second food shop each week to stock up on cakes biscuits and crisps haha. The “essentials” 😂🙈

Surely, statistically, most of the junk will be eaten by obese/overweight people. And a reduction in appetites will mean a lot less of it is sold.

I walk past out local mcD quite often. It is not us fatties there. It is the skinny youth that seems to be there all the time.

It's the manufacturers of DVD players I feel sorry for.

Alternately, the fatties will no longer be keeling over at 40, so the junk food peddlers will benefit from being able to continue selling crap to the same people into their 70s and 80s

Lesser personal consumption, but a much larger pool of potential customers thanks to the fact half your market hasn't suffered a massive coronary waddling down to the chip shop.

Exactly this. We saw this happening at turbo speed during the pandemic....companies had to diversify and many did so very successfully. And as consumers, we spent our money elsewhere, we didn't just sit there not buying anything. Businesses and whole sectors evolve in line with customer need.

There are many things that people with obesity are unable to do, or struggle to do, because of their weight/size....many sports, activities, outdoor pursuits etc. for example. These sectors (and the things associated with them, like clothing, equipment etc.) might grow for example. Also a lot of people with obesity, due to the stigma associated with it, they don't socialise and engage in society as freely as they would like to if they could do so without feeling that stigma, so they might be more likely to engage in social activities generally. Clothes shopping is hard and miserable if you can't find anything that fits, again, this sector would likely grow.

I think people often fail to understand how difficult and restricted life can become for many (not all) people living with obesity - I do some work in this area, and the things people don't do....go to the cinema, travel on planes, eat in restaurants, play sports, buy clothes, etc. A healthier community is a happier and more fulfilled community and that is overall good for spending, just potentially not good for greasy takeaways and sweets manufacturers, but we could learn to be OK with that.

I live in a country with low rates of obesity and we seem to cope OK. The restaurant sector is actually huge here. People pay more for smaller portions of better food.

Presumably they'll start spending the money on other things, rather than just sitting on a big pile of banknotes gloating evilly.

Could do with less fast food deliveries round here anyway, they're a social menace.

The junk food and takeaway market amounts to a bit less than 1% of the UK GDP and is already shrinking anyway.

Estimates of the cost of obesity to the economy are somewhat speculative and debatable but it tends to be put at around 3% of GDP.

That's before you factor in people formerly spending money on junk food just spending on something else too.

Good to have some figures on this, thanks.

No.

Do you think all the alcohol sales are due to people with alcohol misuse disorders?

It's not just a case of cost savings to NHS vs profits from junk food though is it. A healthier population also means fewer sick days, so increased productivity, in all industries. Plus fewer people becoming unable to work before retirement age means lower benefits costs, greater income tax/NI revenue and more money in their hands being spent in the economy.

If people generally develop more healthy eating habits (due to jabs, or better help and advice to tackle the causes of obesity in general) the profits from junk food will shrink but consumers are likely to spend that money elsewhere. People will still want to spend their money on things they consider treats/leisure activities/nice things but perhaps that will be activities/experiences, or maybe fewer but better quality and more expensive meals out, maybe sports (as more people feel fitter and healthier), or music/arts. Maybe if people don't want to eat huge portions of cheap meat products, there will become more call for smaller quantities of higher quality/welfare meat which will also be better for the environment (and animals) and for farmers currently struggling to make a living due to prices being pushed down by supermarkets.

Is this a wind-up, OP?

I think you vastly underestimate the cost to the taxpayer of obesity, both in terms of NHS resource and unemployment.

You also assume that only obese people spend money on junk food and take aways. I spend money on both while managing to maintain a healthy weight.

The % of adults with alcohol misuse issues is far, far less as a % of population than the % of people who are overweight or obese.

According to the Government's own figures, the retail sector including food retail is just under 5% of economic output. No, I don't think it will make a massive impact. People still need to eat and healthy food, for some reason, always seems to cost more.

Plus we won't need such big cars, king size beds (and the bedding to go with it).
Non obese people also eat pizza - just not so much of it.
Would be interesting to see if we had a "don't eat ultra processed food for November" type event so no crisps, pizzas, takeaways etc. the national weighing scales would really change.
Don't know if it is related but the two obese families in our small street are the ones who are visited by deliveroo and just eat on a daily basis and drive their kids to the local school.

It's a bit like saying the poor drug dealers will lose money if all the heroin addicts get clean.

Lots of the stuff you're talking about is horrendously unhealthy. It probably shouldn't be on the shelves in the first place.

But to counter your argument, sales of fruit and veg would increase, gym memberships, sports clubs, yoga classes etc would all get more money so maybe it balances out?

I'd be more concerned about potential long term consequences and side effects of taking the drug and what impact that could have on the nhs.

You missed my point, that still doesn't mean that statistically, it's all the fatties eating all the 'junk' like you suggested.

The majority of people I know who buy takeaways, crisps, sweets etc aren't obese. Including me.

What about all the money people will be spending on the jabs instead of food. I don’t know how much it costs but imagine it is more than junk food costs.
I also doubt the amount of tax payed on junk food (a lot of it is VAT exempt) is anywhere near the amount the NHS spends on treating conditions linked to overweight.

I don't think fat unemployed people will sudden start working when they become thin unemployed people as some of the articles have suggested.
They are not suddenly going to have motivation and skillsets.
Just smaller jeans...

A healthy workforce is a more productive workforce. That's good for the economy

With smoking the government probably did make a tidy profit out of it. Not just in the sense that tobacco duty revenue exceeded the cost of treating smoking-related diseases, but because someone who lived to a ripe old age would be claiming a pension and possibly other benefits while whereas a smoker would (on average) die after only claiming five years' worth of their pension.

Interesting take!

I have lost a significant amount of weight (not through injections) but my food bill is probably higher as healthier foods, higher protein costs a lot more. So I guess it depends on whether people eat the same food, but less, or switch to better alternatives which unfortunately come at a premium.

I have probably caused a dent in the local takeaway businesses profits though