Why the UK wants to give weight-loss jabs to unemployed people

The United Kingdom government has come up with a unique idea to get unemployed people into the workforce: through weight-loss injections. The British health secretary has blamed “widening waistbands” for adding to the burden on the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

This comes amid the UK government’s announcement of a £280 million investment from Lilly, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company, in developing new drugs and ways to provide treatment. The initiatives will include the first trial of the impact of weight-loss jabs on unemployment and productivity.

Let’s take a closer look.

UK’s obesity woes

The UK is one of the heaviest nations in Europe. As per estimates, about 64 per cent of British adults are overweight, meaning they have a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more.

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Of these, 28 per cent of people are obese (with a BMI of 30 or more).

The latest Health Survey for England in 2022 found that 29 per cent of adults in England were obese, while 64 per cent were considered overweight or living with obesity.

Obesity, which is linked to serious health issues like heart disease, strokes, cancer and type 2 diabetes, reportedly costs the NHS more than £11 billion a year.

The UK government said that obesity is the second-biggest preventable cause of cancer and is responsible for health issues that hinder people from fully participating in work, reported Independent. 

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Weight-loss jabs for unemployed

Wes Streeting, the UK’s health secretary, has said that weight-loss medicines, such as Ozempic or Mounjaro, could be administered to people to help them find employment and ease pressure on the NHS.

As per the UK’s LBC radio network, the health service spends about 40 per cent of its budget on preventable health conditions such as obesity, and this figure is likely to rise further.

Streeting wrote in The Telegraph, “The long-term benefits of these drugs could be monumental in our approach to tackling obesity. For many people, these jabs will be life-changing, help them get back to work and ease the demands on our NHS.”

He said that obesity was not just putting a burden on the NHS but also “holding back” the economy. The health secretary wrote: “As a country, we’re eating more, eating less healthily and exercising less. The costs to the individual are clear – a less healthy and shorter life.

“Our widening waistbands are also placing significant burden on our health service, costing the NHS £11 billion a year – even more than smoking. And it’s holding back our economy. Illness caused by obesity causes people to take an extra four sick days a year on average, while many others are forced out of work altogether.”

“The reforms this government will put in place will open the NHS up to work much more closely with life sciences, to develop new, more effective treatments, and put NHS patients at the front of the queue,” he further wrote.

Speaking to BBC, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the plans, saying, “I think these drugs could be very important for our economy and for health.”

“This drug will be very helpful to people who want to lose weight, need to lose weight, very important for the economy so people can get back into work,” he added. “Very important for the NHS because, as I’ve said time and again, yes, we need more money for our NHS, but we’ve got to think differently. We’ve got to reduce the pressure on the NHS. So this will help in all of those areas.”

Health Secretary Streeting also called on people to take “healthy living more seriously”, as the “NHS can’t be expected to always pick up the tab for unhealthy lifestyles”.

Reactions to the plan

Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of the NHS, has labelled weight-loss drugs as “game-changers” that will help reduce the risk in people of “killer conditions like diabetes, heart attack and stroke.”

Some experts have taken objection to linking people’s weight with their potential economic value.

Dr Dolly van Tulleken, who specialises in obesity policy, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme there were “some serious ethical, financial and efficacy considerations with such an approach … Such as looking at people, or measuring people based on their potential economic value, rather than primarily based on their needs and their health needs.”

She went on: “It’s incredibly important that people in the UK access healthcare based on their health need rather than their potential economic value.”

However, van Tulleken said Streeting was on “the side of the population”, adding: “We know from across so much research … how popular these interventions are. People want the government to act. They want to live in a healthy environment; he is absolutely on the side of public.”

How trials would work

A study by Health Innovation Manchester and Lilly will assess if giving weight-loss drugs will reduce joblessness and the impact on NHS service use, reported the Daily Express newspaper.

The trial will collect evidence of the effect of the weight-loss drug tirzepatide , which is sold by Lilly under the brand name Mounjaro.

As per The Telegraph report, over 3,000 obese patients will be roped in for a five-year study to examine whether medication enhances productivity and could get back more people to the workplace.

The drugs will be first administered to people with severe obesity, those with a BMI over 40, who have at least three health conditions due to weight such as heart disease, high blood pressure or obstructive sleep apnoea, reported Independent.

According to officials, almost a quarter of a million people are likely to get the Mounjaro jab over the next three years.

With inputs from agencies