Should Weight Loss Jabs Be Made Available On The Nhs?

[sp1814]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/aug/15/nhs-to-offer-weight-loss-jabs-via-apps-that-help-patients-with-obesity

You could argue that if patients could lose weight there are less chances of them ending up in hospital with diseases linked to obesity.

However surely any prescribed medication could only be short term? A course of pills won't treat the underlying course.

[construct1245]

If it takes pressure of the NHS and improves people's quality of life, why not?

[anneasquith]

Morbid obesity costs the NHS dearly. If properly controlled it’s worth a try.

[Old_Geezer]

It depends on the result of the cost value analysis. The industry needs to sort out the "vital" from the "nice to have" first, before deciding where to put the budget in order to do the most good with it.

[sp1814]

construct1245

But pills aren't like a gastric band. They can't permanently alter the way you eat nor your relationship to food. Once you come off the pills, you'll be slimmer - but you'll still crave chips!

[retrocop]

Definitely. This is life saving medication in many cases.

[bednobs]

is it jab or pills (you say both) if it's jab, you probably have to fasctor in the cost of administering it

[Old_Geezer]

Are they thinking of having it in isolation though ? It could be a useful part of a wider :-) course of investigation/treatment.

[LadyCG]

Weight loss jabs are already available on the NHS but in the case of Saxenda you have to be in the pre-diabetic range (HbA1c 42mmol/mol to 48mmol/mol) and have a cardiovascular risk factor to qualify.

Wegovy has less strict criteria but it's launch date in the UK has been considerably delayed.

Saxenda can be funded privately for weight loss and the only specific contraindication is a history or family history of thyroid medullary cancer.

There is however a national shortage of GLP1 agonists due to high demand.

[barry1010]

Perhaps to get a person down to a safe weight for stomach reduction surgery.

I have battled with my weight all my life, I have been morbidly obese and type 2 diabetic. I know that losing weight is less of a struggle than keeping it off.

[LadyCG]

Any chance of being switched to Ozempic for your diabetes, Barry? That's another one that facilitates weight loss.

[zebo]

The NHS spends millions on 'treating' alcoholism and other drug dependencies, sounds like this could fall under that umbrella. One of the reasons that the NHS is in such a financial mess is that this is not how it was designed, to treat illnesses rather than lifestyle choices.

[barry1010]

LadyCG, I last lost a lot of weight some years ago when the oral diabetic drugs stopped working and I was told I would need insulin injections. I also had a non-alcohol fatty liver and was in pretty poor shape.
I lost it through diet and exercise and have stuck to the regime.
I am no longer diabetic and my liver is ticketyboo.

[LadyCG]

That's fantastic, Barry, well done.

[youngmafbog]

//Once you come off the pills, you'll be slimmer - but you'll still crave chips!//

And therein lies the problem.

If it is used as part of a wider strategy then ok, maybe. But on their own no use whatsoever really.

There is no easy solution to getting weight off, one just has to follow the LCME diet. But that is easier said than done, I know I am Mr Tubs.

[douglas9401]

Only if it works on big bones too.

[rowanwitch]

They are not a quick fix and they have potentially awful side effects, for example Ozempic carries an increased risk of brain tumours.... If someone is morbidly obese the risk is probably worth it.

[dave50]

When people say that they went on a diet and it didn't work, what they really mean is they didn't stick to it. Willpower is all you need, then you will lose weight.

[Ellipsis]

There are many different reasons why people gain weight. A pill is not a cure-all, but it can help get started.

I read "Ultra-Processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn't Food" recently. It certainly gives food for thought, about how and why some people eat more than others. In a nutshell, some food is not actually real food but "an industrially produced edible substance". These substances may have the same calories, proteins, carbohydrates and fats as real food, but because they're not real food, your body can be tricked into eating more. For example, try eating a real homemade loaf of bread versus a sliced loaf of bread, and see which takes longer to eat, which makes you more full and which you will eat more of.

So, if you're eating more because you're eating mostly industrially produced edible substances, aka junk food, then fixing your obesity by taking a pill is kind of disgusting. Chemicals to fix chemicals. A big problem, though, is that real food is a lot more expensive than junk food: industrialisation brings down costs.

[pastafreak]

I've got that book on my kindle ellipsis...it's next on the non fiction list to read.
I've read a few horror stories about these new weight drugs. Rare side effects including food not moving through the stomach quickly enough (one of the ways in which they prevent over eating I think), but causing blockages. As I said, rare, but I hope patients are informed.

[barry1010]

I've never eaten junk food.