Fitness experts expect clients to leave their programmes as weight loss jabs become available on the NHS. Rami Mwamba spoke to some of them.Jane Sigley, Slimming World consultant, Tameside
It was recently announced that weight loss jabs will be prescribed on the NHS in England. Around 220,000 people are expected to receive Mounjaro via the health service in the next three years.
The patients will be those of the “greatest need”, and the drug will only be prescribed to people with a BMI of over 40, who have at least four other health problems linked to obesity such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and obstructive sleep apnoea.
The move comes as part of a sweeping trend that has seen demand for drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy skyrocket. Prior to these tools, it was common for members of the public looking to shed the pounds to join groups such as Slimming World or Weight Watchers.
But those entities are struggling. Just this year Weight Watchers filed for bankruptcy.
Jane Sigley, is a Slimming World consultant, mainly working in Tameside. She says that while she expects service users to leave the programme, her groups are still thriving.
“To be honest, there will be people leaving because of the jab, but it’ll be minimal.” She told the M.E.N. “It’s not really affected our groups if I’m completely honest, my numbers have stayed the same in terms of people who have walked through the door.
“We’ve got some members who are on it and are still coming into our group because it’s about the habits that they’re changing as well as the weight loss they have.
Mounjaro is a treatment for weight loss and type 2 diabetes(Image: Peter Dazeley)
“They still need to have all those things in place. It’s not a magic wand, if we had a magic wand then none of our groups would be around.
“The level of obesity is rising and it’s continued to rise in our area as well. It’s about getting out there and about how we can do that more successfully.”
A 2022 health survey for England estimated that 28% of adults in England were obese and a further 36% were overweight. The report revealed that men were more likely than women to be overweight or obese (67% of men compared with 61% of women).
Boxing coach, Sean Saville, is based in Tyldesley where he trains kids and adults at 1 More Round Coaching. Sean says that he has one client who is on weight loss medication.
“I don’t know what he was on exactly, but he lost about 14 kilos in the space of about ten weeks.” He told the M.E.N. “He’d been training with me for two years.
“In a way I’m really happy for him, he was in the 20 stone region and it’s added a few years onto his life.
“People come to train to lose a little bit of weight, and right now it’s only available to people who need it, those people aren’t our target market anyway.
“It might be aimed at people who are struggling for movement altogether. If it becomes more readily available then, yes, you’re gonna see people dipping out.”
Boxing coach, Sean Saville
Sean says that should the jab become more accessible, it’ll mean a change in strategy for the fitness industry.
“We’d have to refocus our marketing.” He explained. “On cardiovascular health, the importance of muscle mass and strength. Rather than pitching it as a weight loss thing.
“Maybe we took that as a bit of a given, it’s dead easy to get people through the door by convincing them that losing weight is a health benefit.
“It would potentially make it a little bit more difficult, I’m in a specialist field though, so my target audience is a bit different.
Previously, patients needed to access the drugs – an antidiabetic that lowers blood sugar levels and slows down how quickly food is digested – through a special weight loss service.
But leading family doctors said some GPs have expressed concern about the additional workload linked to the rollout, and pharmacy experts also said there could be pressure on supplies of the drug.
For Sean, despite there being potential competition, he ultimately sees the upside of the drug when it comes to the NHS.
“I’m intrinsically motivated to do fitness, so I can’t really grasp or understand why people can’t have some sort of fitness in their lives.” He said.
“However, if it means that it’s going to reduce the strain on the NHS, improve people’s lives and potentially by people losing weight they might be more inclined to get involved.
“It’s not all about that weight, people have body conscious issues, to me I think fitness and diet should always come before any injection, but if it does help some people, who am I to say they shouldn’t be taking it.”