Weight loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic are seen as a revolution in the medical field. The UK sees the drugs as something that might enhance public finances, considering their use to help unemployed people get back to work and ultimately save money on healthcare.
In the UK, around a quarter of working-age people (11 million) are currently unemployed. It is unclear what percentage of the unemployed population cannot find work because of obesity-related illnesses, which, according to government figures, result in an average of just four extra sick days a year. Obesity affects at least 29 per cent of adults in England and 15 per cent of children aged two to 15, according to the latest Health Survey for England, which used data for 2022.
“For many people, these weight-loss jabs will be life-changing, help them get back to work, and ease the demands on our NHS,” British Health Secretary Wes Streeting wrote recently in The Telegraph newspaper. He added that obesity places a significant burden on the health system, costing the NHS £11 billion each year and forcing people to take an average of four more sick days a year, damaging the economy.
To counter the problem, the government is partnering with drug manufacturer Eli Lilly to fund a five-year trial of the weight loss drug Mounjaro. The trial will therefore collect data on participants’ quality of life, changes in their employment status and use of sick leave.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy “could be very important” for the country’s sluggish economy. “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 said.
On the other hand, the proposals drew negative reactions from health professionals. They argue that new pharmaceutical treatments have led to a huge demand that the country’s public health system cannot cope with. Also, experts point out the need for additional measures to prevent obesity. They say since the health system is already overburdened, it is difficult to prescribe drugs on a large scale. They note that the solutions need to be much more in-depth.
Experts believe it is almost impossible to make the drugs widely available as there are currently around 4.1 million people living with obesity who fulfil the criteria for Wegovy through the National Health Service in England. But fewer than 50,000 people a year will actually receive treatment due to underfunding of NHS services and staffing levels, even with additional funding in the coming years, according to the alliance, citing NHS estimates.
On the contrary, early profiling can be extremely fortunate for people and the problem. For example, experts are calling for tighter marketing rules to prevent junk food being advertised to children. In October 2025, a watershed law will come into force in the UK, banning junk food adverts before 9 p.m. on TV, streaming services and the internet.
Another way is to impose higher taxes on unhealthy products. A tax on sugary soft drinks has led manufacturers to reduce the amount of sugar in fizzy drinks, and studies show that higher prices discourage some consumers.
Another policy solution lies in ensuring that healthier food is served in public sector institutions such as schools, hospitals and prisons. This kind of intervention could also be applied to the private sector if offices and corporate catering companies were required to serve healthier food, according to Martin White, professor of population health research at the University of Cambridge. White said:
We have to work out ways to change the context or the environment that is leading people to eat that many excess calories. Increasingly, what we’ve seen is that kids are starting to put on weight from a very early age. But if you can prevent it really early, then the cost savings in terms of health care become huge.
Obesity is the second most common cause of preventable death in England after smoking, according to government health figures. It is also a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, liver disease and several cancers.
