More obese people will have access to weight-loss jab in attempt to boost employment
March 08 2023
Trials have shown that Wegovy can help people reduce their body weight by 10 per cent or more
Professor Sir Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, will work alongside economists in the Treasury to measure the effectiveness of the drugs on the job market. “The Treasury is interested in seeing evidence that it can keep people in work, reduce sick days or get people back to work,” said a government source.
“There is work going on to see if they can get the OBR [Office for Budget Responsibility] to score this as saving money.”
Wegovy, also known as semaglutide, has been approved by the NHS after evidence that it can help people reduce their body weight by 10 per cent or more. It is one of an emerging generation of weight-loss drugs, which also includes Ozempic, that ministers believe could help solve Britain’s obesity problem. The Times revealed earlier this year that officials believe they could ultimately be offered to 12 million people.
However, under current recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Wegovy must be given alongside help from specialist weight-management services, which have capacity for about 35,000 patients a year.
Professor Sir Chris Whitty will work with the Treasury to assess how more widespread use of the drugs can get people back to work
Professor Sir Chris Whitty will work with the Treasury to assess how more widespread use of the drugs can get people back to work
Now the Department of Health is launching a £40 million two-year pilot to see if the drugs can work with far less intensive lifestyle support and with assistance from pharmacists and apps instead. Between 5,000 and 10,000 people are expected to be recruited in an attempt to build evidence that would allow the medicines to be offered to more people.
Sunak said: “Obesity puts huge pressure on the NHS. Using the latest drugs to support people to lose weight will be a game-changer by helping to tackle dangerous obesity-related health conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer — reducing pressure on hospitals, supporting people to live healthier and longer lives and helping to deliver on my priority to cut NHS waiting lists.”
Wegovy is not yet available in the UK after the launch was delayed so that Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer, could build up stocks. However, ministers have held talks with the company, arguing that using the drug to build evidence in the NHS will promote the medicine around the world.
Ministers also hope to include a similar drug — tirzepatide, which could be even more effective — in the scheme, and are planning to have similar discussions with its manufacturer, Eli Lilly.
The prime minister said use of the drugs could be a game-changer in tackling obesity
The prime minister said use of the drugs could be a game-changer in tackling obesity
Ministers, under pressure to get people back to work, are also planning to use the trial to measure whether those who use the drugs stay in work or find new jobs at higher rates than those who do not.
Companies are struggling with a million vacancies, while 2.5 million people of working age are on long-term sickness benefits — a figure predicted to rise to 3.7 million by 2028.
While health chiefs have repeatedly argued that spending on preventing ill health will save money down the line, the Treasury has been sceptical.
Whitty’s team and the chief economist at the Treasury will build evidence on which treatment and public health measures could save the government money while Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, seeks to find headroom for tax cuts in the autumn.
The OBR will also have to be convinced. Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, said last month that the spending watchdog was “the start and end of everything” in government, adding that it set “a very high bar” for claims that schemes would save money.
“The OBR is exacting when it comes to assessing whether something will have an economic impact. So they will look at the evidence: is it an approach that’s been used before either here or internationally? Is it additional to stuff that’s already going on? Is it durable; is it going to last through time?”
Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said: “This next generation of obesity drugs have the potential to help people lose significant amounts of weight when prescribed with exercise, diet and behavioural support.”
While there is uncertainty in some quarters about ministers’ attempts to treat their way out of Britain’s obesity problem, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, the medical director of NHS England, said: “Pharmaceutical treatments offer a new way of helping people with obesity gain a healthier weight and this pilot will help determine if these medicines can be used safely and effectively in non-hospital settings.”
The education around weight loss and gain is crazy.
All that matters is calories but i see intelligent people, doctors etc. all parroting incorrect bollocks. Its no wonder were so overweight in this country. The level of misinformation is crazy; even from societies experts.
Disclaimer: I haven’t read the article due to pay wall. So if the situation has changed from my current understanding then apologies.
I work in the NHS and handle all the weight management referrals in my group practice. We’ve only just started referring people to liraglutide injections (that’s the name on our systems). However in order to be eligible for the funding there must be evidence of clear effort to lose weight via our other services, most of which are free to use when referred from the GP.
This means 100% attendance to the tier 2 service you may have been sent too and some weight loss must have been achieved.
I am aware that some medical conditions means that losing weight via tier 2 services is simply impractical such as hyperthyroidism, and slimming world sessions and some excersise plans won’t cut it. But in order to qualify for the more intensive weight loss treatments these original referrals must be attempted first.
Interesting that this is framed as boosting employment rather than an improvement in people’s health.
Why isn’t it a habit to also post a paywall free link?
>Obesity puts huge pressure on the NHS
“You should try being a chair or a lift, mate”
It’s also the fact that healthy food is expensive to be fair and just a lack of time or will to spend time cooking healthy meals. Need more education aswell to reach people how to cook healthy meals etc..
I genuinly think people’s biggest problem is the complete lack of understanding of what sensible portion size is. The amount of time people post photos of food and the plates piled high. You can eat super healthy meals but if your taking in more calories than your burning off what your eating becomes almost irrelevant.
As someone who is very obese but also very much doing something about it, I don’t believe the jabs alone are enough.
​
Yes, they work, they really do. Yes, you’ll lose weight fast, really fast. However, without a proper nutrition plan in place (provided by an actual medical professional Dietitian/Nutritionist) to supplement the jabs, the weight you will lose you will put back the moment you stop the jabs.
​
Personally speaking, looking at my own continuing journey through it all, I found that what helped me the most thus far has been going down the medical professional Nutritionist (private but working with the NHS) route, with weekly check-ins, weighting and measurement-taking, a complete change in my eating habits and a requirement for X steps per day every day.
And, unlike diets, pills and jabs, yes, I’m losing weight slowly (compared to pills/jabs/diets) but I’m also losing it steadily, on a weekly basis (between 0.5 (worst) and 1.5kg per week (best) thus far).
And the food I’m eating is actually insanely tasty and filling and wholesome (much to my extreme surprise!!!), and very importantly easy and quick to prepare.
​
Central to my journey, however, has been admitting to myself and the world that I have a big problem, one that I need help to fix, asking for that help and actually working with my chosen medical professional to fix it (following their instructions).
Edit: I wanted to thank you all for your kind comments and upvotes. They were both very encouraging and thought-provoking.
I wrote this post to provide the point of view of someone who is actually morbidly obese, knows it and is finally doing something about it, in full knowledge I might end up trolled and downvoted to oblivion, and was very pleasantly surprised to find this wasn’t the case.
The majority of obese people are addicted to food, they probably understand they need to eat less but their brains wont let them. Telling people to eat less is like telling a gambling addict to stop gambling.
I think if this medication can allow people to suppress their appetites and overcome their addiction then it’s great but, long term change to diet is needed not a simple lose X number of kg and then back to the same habits before.
It’s absolutely calories in vs out when it comes to weight loss. If you had a device that could measure with 100% accuracy the calories you consume at any given time and the same again for calories used by the body as long as calories consumed were consistently lower you would loose weight.
The problem is normally people don’t calculate and are eating more than they think.
Maybe the fast food companies should just be taken to task, for what they’re doing to us?
And more sustainable healthy exercise is encouraged?
This is something I never really considered. Jumping straight to pharmacological agents for weight loss is obviously not advisable; with it being used in cases where multiple measures have been tried and failed. Putting aside the long term health benefits and the subsequent economic gains, factoring returning to employment is another added benefit. By getting people back to work earlier, or preventing the the from having to leave employment in the first place is a significant economic benefit.
And they will have to continue having access to it for the rest of their lives, because semaglutide only treats the symptoms of obesity as opposed to the root cause (which is most often mental). They should be provided therapy at the same time as the injection.
I’m tired to the government targeting obesity with information about healthy eating, which is so expensive.
Then every forest, beach, reservoir has expensive parking. There are no government gyms people can freely use or swimming pools. I went paddleboarding yesterday and a local council staff member was out there to try and charge me £10 for use of the water, after the £2.50 in parking I’d just paid… to use my OWN board.
You want people to be healthier? Stop charging an arm and a leg for basic outdoor resources and fresh food.
It’s great that people who struggle can have a medication which helps. More power to them.
The jabs that give you diarrhea? Not very work friendly surely.
[removed]
Just eat fewer calories than your body burns in a day
It’s not hard
It makes some sense, as the healthier people are the more they can work, and the more taxes they can pay, allowing GPs to prescribe the jabs to lower people’s weight, is also preventative action to save the NHS money, due reducing the chances of weight related health issues, it’s cheaper than waiting for people to become so obese their only chance is bariatric surgery.
Meanwhile I’m paying extra to gain weight as everything in this country is going diet. Lovely
So no sugar and no fat or is it just no sugar and 7 kfc buckets a week I’m so lost lol
Good luck ensuring adherence.
Sadly, this generation of GLP-1 inhibitors have pretty gnarly side effects that will impact long term use (mostly the severe nausea).
Eli Lily has a next gen drug up its sleeve but my bet is they will pursue a neuro use before making it cheap enough for obesity.
Just make food better!
Food used to be healthy and real… now it’s shite
Wegovy has no supplies in the UK and equivalent versions not licensed for weight loss in non-diabetic are in short supply. It also does not address the causes of weight and the weight simply returns once it has been withdrawn. GPs are also overwhelmed trying to provide the normal service. Other than that, great plan.
If an obese person needs a jab to lose weight I doubt they’ll be overly productive in employment tbh
lol, yes all that matters in life, is that you are slim and healthy, so you cant earn profits, for our capitalists over lords
Cool. Now let’s do the mental health one to get people back into employment.
Damn, fat fatphobia really is rampant. Those plus size subs are right. And now we are seeing genocide of fat people. /s.
Can we get a jab for social circles that revolve around eating unhealthy food.
Just have a treat! Take the day off! Have something special!
Its not a treat when its every week. I like cooking. It isn’t special I can cook better for less.
Big pharma makes its profits again. Just solve all your issues with big pharma guys, they need to make money!
30 comments
More obese people will have access to weight-loss jab in attempt to boost employment
March 08 2023
Trials have shown that Wegovy can help people reduce their body weight by 10 per cent or more
Professor Sir Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, will work alongside economists in the Treasury to measure the effectiveness of the drugs on the job market. “The Treasury is interested in seeing evidence that it can keep people in work, reduce sick days or get people back to work,” said a government source.
“There is work going on to see if they can get the OBR [Office for Budget Responsibility] to score this as saving money.”
Wegovy, also known as semaglutide, has been approved by the NHS after evidence that it can help people reduce their body weight by 10 per cent or more. It is one of an emerging generation of weight-loss drugs, which also includes Ozempic, that ministers believe could help solve Britain’s obesity problem. The Times revealed earlier this year that officials believe they could ultimately be offered to 12 million people.
However, under current recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Wegovy must be given alongside help from specialist weight-management services, which have capacity for about 35,000 patients a year.
Professor Sir Chris Whitty will work with the Treasury to assess how more widespread use of the drugs can get people back to work
Professor Sir Chris Whitty will work with the Treasury to assess how more widespread use of the drugs can get people back to work
Now the Department of Health is launching a £40 million two-year pilot to see if the drugs can work with far less intensive lifestyle support and with assistance from pharmacists and apps instead. Between 5,000 and 10,000 people are expected to be recruited in an attempt to build evidence that would allow the medicines to be offered to more people.
Sunak said: “Obesity puts huge pressure on the NHS. Using the latest drugs to support people to lose weight will be a game-changer by helping to tackle dangerous obesity-related health conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer — reducing pressure on hospitals, supporting people to live healthier and longer lives and helping to deliver on my priority to cut NHS waiting lists.”
Wegovy is not yet available in the UK after the launch was delayed so that Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer, could build up stocks. However, ministers have held talks with the company, arguing that using the drug to build evidence in the NHS will promote the medicine around the world.
Ministers also hope to include a similar drug — tirzepatide, which could be even more effective — in the scheme, and are planning to have similar discussions with its manufacturer, Eli Lilly.
The prime minister said use of the drugs could be a game-changer in tackling obesity
The prime minister said use of the drugs could be a game-changer in tackling obesity
Ministers, under pressure to get people back to work, are also planning to use the trial to measure whether those who use the drugs stay in work or find new jobs at higher rates than those who do not.
Companies are struggling with a million vacancies, while 2.5 million people of working age are on long-term sickness benefits — a figure predicted to rise to 3.7 million by 2028.
While health chiefs have repeatedly argued that spending on preventing ill health will save money down the line, the Treasury has been sceptical.
Whitty’s team and the chief economist at the Treasury will build evidence on which treatment and public health measures could save the government money while Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, seeks to find headroom for tax cuts in the autumn.
The OBR will also have to be convinced. Mel Stride, the work and pensions secretary, said last month that the spending watchdog was “the start and end of everything” in government, adding that it set “a very high bar” for claims that schemes would save money.
“The OBR is exacting when it comes to assessing whether something will have an economic impact. So they will look at the evidence: is it an approach that’s been used before either here or internationally? Is it additional to stuff that’s already going on? Is it durable; is it going to last through time?”
Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said: “This next generation of obesity drugs have the potential to help people lose significant amounts of weight when prescribed with exercise, diet and behavioural support.”
While there is uncertainty in some quarters about ministers’ attempts to treat their way out of Britain’s obesity problem, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, the medical director of NHS England, said: “Pharmaceutical treatments offer a new way of helping people with obesity gain a healthier weight and this pilot will help determine if these medicines can be used safely and effectively in non-hospital settings.”
The education around weight loss and gain is crazy.
All that matters is calories but i see intelligent people, doctors etc. all parroting incorrect bollocks. Its no wonder were so overweight in this country. The level of misinformation is crazy; even from societies experts.
Disclaimer: I haven’t read the article due to pay wall. So if the situation has changed from my current understanding then apologies.
I work in the NHS and handle all the weight management referrals in my group practice. We’ve only just started referring people to liraglutide injections (that’s the name on our systems). However in order to be eligible for the funding there must be evidence of clear effort to lose weight via our other services, most of which are free to use when referred from the GP.
This means 100% attendance to the tier 2 service you may have been sent too and some weight loss must have been achieved.
I am aware that some medical conditions means that losing weight via tier 2 services is simply impractical such as hyperthyroidism, and slimming world sessions and some excersise plans won’t cut it. But in order to qualify for the more intensive weight loss treatments these original referrals must be attempted first.
Interesting that this is framed as boosting employment rather than an improvement in people’s health.
Why isn’t it a habit to also post a paywall free link?
>Obesity puts huge pressure on the NHS
“You should try being a chair or a lift, mate”
It’s also the fact that healthy food is expensive to be fair and just a lack of time or will to spend time cooking healthy meals. Need more education aswell to reach people how to cook healthy meals etc..
I genuinly think people’s biggest problem is the complete lack of understanding of what sensible portion size is. The amount of time people post photos of food and the plates piled high. You can eat super healthy meals but if your taking in more calories than your burning off what your eating becomes almost irrelevant.
As someone who is very obese but also very much doing something about it, I don’t believe the jabs alone are enough.
​
Yes, they work, they really do. Yes, you’ll lose weight fast, really fast. However, without a proper nutrition plan in place (provided by an actual medical professional Dietitian/Nutritionist) to supplement the jabs, the weight you will lose you will put back the moment you stop the jabs.
​
Personally speaking, looking at my own continuing journey through it all, I found that what helped me the most thus far has been going down the medical professional Nutritionist (private but working with the NHS) route, with weekly check-ins, weighting and measurement-taking, a complete change in my eating habits and a requirement for X steps per day every day.
And, unlike diets, pills and jabs, yes, I’m losing weight slowly (compared to pills/jabs/diets) but I’m also losing it steadily, on a weekly basis (between 0.5 (worst) and 1.5kg per week (best) thus far).
And the food I’m eating is actually insanely tasty and filling and wholesome (much to my extreme surprise!!!), and very importantly easy and quick to prepare.
​
Central to my journey, however, has been admitting to myself and the world that I have a big problem, one that I need help to fix, asking for that help and actually working with my chosen medical professional to fix it (following their instructions).
Edit: I wanted to thank you all for your kind comments and upvotes. They were both very encouraging and thought-provoking.
I wrote this post to provide the point of view of someone who is actually morbidly obese, knows it and is finally doing something about it, in full knowledge I might end up trolled and downvoted to oblivion, and was very pleasantly surprised to find this wasn’t the case.
The majority of obese people are addicted to food, they probably understand they need to eat less but their brains wont let them. Telling people to eat less is like telling a gambling addict to stop gambling.
I think if this medication can allow people to suppress their appetites and overcome their addiction then it’s great but, long term change to diet is needed not a simple lose X number of kg and then back to the same habits before.
It’s absolutely calories in vs out when it comes to weight loss. If you had a device that could measure with 100% accuracy the calories you consume at any given time and the same again for calories used by the body as long as calories consumed were consistently lower you would loose weight.
The problem is normally people don’t calculate and are eating more than they think.
Maybe the fast food companies should just be taken to task, for what they’re doing to us?
And more sustainable healthy exercise is encouraged?
This is something I never really considered. Jumping straight to pharmacological agents for weight loss is obviously not advisable; with it being used in cases where multiple measures have been tried and failed. Putting aside the long term health benefits and the subsequent economic gains, factoring returning to employment is another added benefit. By getting people back to work earlier, or preventing the the from having to leave employment in the first place is a significant economic benefit.
And they will have to continue having access to it for the rest of their lives, because semaglutide only treats the symptoms of obesity as opposed to the root cause (which is most often mental). They should be provided therapy at the same time as the injection.
I’m tired to the government targeting obesity with information about healthy eating, which is so expensive.
Then every forest, beach, reservoir has expensive parking. There are no government gyms people can freely use or swimming pools. I went paddleboarding yesterday and a local council staff member was out there to try and charge me £10 for use of the water, after the £2.50 in parking I’d just paid… to use my OWN board.
You want people to be healthier? Stop charging an arm and a leg for basic outdoor resources and fresh food.
It’s great that people who struggle can have a medication which helps. More power to them.
The jabs that give you diarrhea? Not very work friendly surely.
[removed]
Just eat fewer calories than your body burns in a day
It’s not hard
It makes some sense, as the healthier people are the more they can work, and the more taxes they can pay, allowing GPs to prescribe the jabs to lower people’s weight, is also preventative action to save the NHS money, due reducing the chances of weight related health issues, it’s cheaper than waiting for people to become so obese their only chance is bariatric surgery.
Meanwhile I’m paying extra to gain weight as everything in this country is going diet. Lovely
So no sugar and no fat or is it just no sugar and 7 kfc buckets a week I’m so lost lol
Good luck ensuring adherence.
Sadly, this generation of GLP-1 inhibitors have pretty gnarly side effects that will impact long term use (mostly the severe nausea).
Eli Lily has a next gen drug up its sleeve but my bet is they will pursue a neuro use before making it cheap enough for obesity.
Just make food better!
Food used to be healthy and real… now it’s shite
Wegovy has no supplies in the UK and equivalent versions not licensed for weight loss in non-diabetic are in short supply. It also does not address the causes of weight and the weight simply returns once it has been withdrawn. GPs are also overwhelmed trying to provide the normal service. Other than that, great plan.
If an obese person needs a jab to lose weight I doubt they’ll be overly productive in employment tbh
lol, yes all that matters in life, is that you are slim and healthy, so you cant earn profits, for our capitalists over lords
Cool. Now let’s do the mental health one to get people back into employment.
Damn, fat fatphobia really is rampant. Those plus size subs are right. And now we are seeing genocide of fat people. /s.
Can we get a jab for social circles that revolve around eating unhealthy food.
Just have a treat! Take the day off! Have something special!
Its not a treat when its every week. I like cooking. It isn’t special I can cook better for less.
Big pharma makes its profits again. Just solve all your issues with big pharma guys, they need to make money!