Health secretary claims ‘significant’ economic benefits to prescribing a weight loss jab to thousands of people

Steve Barclay believes various health ‘challenges’ linked to obesity, such as staff sickness and musculoskeletal conditions, have an impact on the labour market.

But he insisted the primary focus of a new £40 million Government pilot scheme to expand access to weight-loss jabs is to tackle obesity and its related health issues such as type 2 diabetes and cancer.

Asked whether the Government’s aim is to help millions of people lose weight and for potentially many of those to get back to work and off benefits, he said: ‘Yes, we think this can be hugely significant.

‘We know that obesity has very severe health consequences… the impact of obesity is very, very significant on the nation’s health.

‘We also know that many people will have tried to lose weight, will have struggled to do so or, indeed, if they have lost weight, will have struggled to keep that weight off, so it’s right that we look at a range of innovations.’

The News last month reported that two-thirds of adults in Portsmouth were estimated to be overweight or obese last year.

Obesity Health Alliance said the government must make it easier and cheaper to buy healthier food and drinks to bring the rate of obesity down in England.

Figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities show an estimated 66.4% of over 18 year olds in Portsmouth were overweight or living with obesity in the year to November 2022.

That was down from 66.9% in 2015-16 when the Sport England Active Lives survey began, which the data is based on.

However, an estimated 26.5% adults were obese – a slight increase from 26.2% seven years prior.

Mr Barclay said the ‘purpose of the pilot is to inform what its potential scope is and what its wider benefits may be’.

The NHS,he added, should be at the ‘front of the pack’ when it comes to being able to dispense the new weight-loss drugs.

The Government wants to tackle poor health and the £6.5 billion cost to the NHS of obesity by making it easier to access the weight-loss treatments through GPs.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence gave approval for the use of appetite suppressant Wegovy (semaglutide) earlier this year, but said it should only be available through specialist services which are largely hospital-based.

The Government said that would mean only around 35,000 people having access to the treatment when tens of thousands more could be eligible under the criteria of having a body mass index of at least 35 and one weight-related condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

The two-year pilot will now explore how approved drugs can be made available to more people by expanding specialist weight management services outside hospitals.

Wegovy was approved for NHS use after research suggested users could shed more than 10% of their body weight.

The drug suppresses the appetite, so people feel fuller and therefore eat less food.

Wegovy is a weight-loss injection popular with celebrities – Twitter and Tesla tycoon Elon Musk has said he uses it to stay in shape.